Russian President Vladimir Putin told US envoy Steve Witkoff that Moscow was ready in principle to resume three-way negotiations with Ukraine and the US around mid-November, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Ushakov said Putin conveyed that position during their meeting in St. Petersburg. The proposed discussions would focus on postwar security arrangements.
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“The president informed Steve Witkoff that we are, in principle, ready to resume the aforementioned trilateral negotiations,” Ushakov told journalists, according to Interfax Russia.
The aide added that Moscow’s main proposed topic was establishing a security framework for Russia and Ukraine after the fighting ends.
Ushakov also said Witkoff indicated that US President Donald Trump would welcome Russia’s willingness to return to negotiations. The Kremlin aide provided that description of the envoy’s response.
The announcement set out Moscow’s position and a proposed timeframe, rather than a jointly announced agreement among the three countries on when negotiations would take place.
The Kremlin has repeatedly said it is open to direct talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, but it has demanded that the Ukrainian leader come to Moscow, effectively derailing the proposals.
Witkoff brings proposals from Oslo
The Kremlin’s statement followed Witkoff’s arrival in St. Petersburg with proposals discussed with Ukrainian and European leaders.
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During Wednesday’s meeting, the US envoy said he had brought documents outlining possible approaches to ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. He urged Putin to consider restarting negotiations involving representatives of all three countries, including technical working groups.
Witkoff described the preceding discussions in Oslo as productive and said they could move toward a ceasefire. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin would review the proposals.
The visit marked the US envoys’ first trip to Russia since Sept. 5, when Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Putin and senior Russian officials for three hours before traveling to Kyiv.
Before Wednesday’s meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would listen to US proposals but ruled out political concessions.
Ukraine seeks strong security guarantees
Security guarantees were also central to Zelensky’s talks with Witkoff and Nordic leaders in Norway on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Witkoff would take proposals developed during the Oslo discussions to Russia’s leadership. The talks covered Ukraine’s security, territorial questions, sanctions and postwar prosperity.
Zelensky said a draft document included several types of guarantees, which Kyiv would present to the Russian side before assessing Putin’s response.
The Ukrainian president also confirmed that US intelligence sharing for early warnings of Russian attacks had resumed after a week of interruptions.
He said he expected progress within 48 hours on Patriot interceptors, intelligence cooperation and restrictions affecting Starlink terminals. Those issues formed part of the broader discussions over Ukraine’s ability to defend itself while diplomacy continued.
Kyiv rejects Ukraine peace talks without Ukraine
The proposed Russia-US-Ukraine format comes as Zelensky has rejected any attempt to negotiate Ukraine’s future without Kyiv.
Speaking in Oslo, he responded to reports of a possible separate meeting involving Trump, Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Zelensky said those leaders could hold their own discussions, but any negotiations on Ukraine’s future require Ukrainian participation.
He distinguished that potential summit from the three-way meeting he had proposed involving the US, Ukraine and Russia.
The Ukrainian president said the security proposals discussed in Oslo included arrangements resembling NATO’s Article 5 collective defense commitment. He emphasized that Ukraine needed strong guarantees after the war ends, and Kyiv was awaiting feedback from Witkoff’s discussions in Russia.
Støre likewise reaffirmed that decisions about Ukraine’s future could not be made without Ukraine’s involvement.
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