Putin agrees to resume three-way talks on Ukraine war with Kyiv and Washington, Kremlin says

Putin agrees to resume three-way discussions.

Key points

• President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, left, holds a paper while speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Konstantin Palace in Strelnya, outside St.
• Witkoff planned to return to Oslo for more consultations after his trip to Russia, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre remarked.
• Petersburg lasted regarding three hours, the Kremlin stated, and came a day after Witkoff met with Zelenskyy and some European leaders in Norway's capital, Oslo.
• Petersburg's Constantine Palace, with Ushakov and Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev additionally at the table.
• While 10 residential buildings were damaged, the city's military administration stated, overnight Russian attacks in Kyiv left three individuals dead and 12 wounded.

Putin agrees to resume three-way discussions on Ukraine war with Kyiv and Washington, Kremlin states. By: Associated Press – October 21, 2026.

U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, left, holds a paper while speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Konstantin Palace in Strelnya, outside St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP).

In practice, the negotiations are set to resume after Nov. 10 and will focus on building a security system for Russia and Ukraine. U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin on Wednesday in St. Petersburg to discuss the resumption of discussions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Wednesday to resume three-way negotiations next month with Washington and Kyiv aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, a Kremlin official remarked, potentially setting up the first such negotiations since February.

In practice, the Russian leader agreed "in principle" to resume the discussions after Nov. 10, Putin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov remarked to journalists after a session in St. Petersburg between Putin and U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff.

Notably, the discussions will focus on "building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends, " Ushakov stated.

Witkoff's discussions with Putin concerning Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine took place as U.S. President Donald Trump pushed Kyiv to create a agreement that stops the fighting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has insisted that only a summit of leaders can break the impasse. The two armies remain locked on the battlefield, and the countries pummel each other with daily long-range strikes.

Representatives of the three countries held three rounds of negotiations early this year, session twice in Abu Dhabi in January and February, followed by further negotiations in Geneva in February.

Nevertheless, little progress was noted beyond exchanges of prisoners of war as Moscow and Kyiv stuck to their longstanding basic demands.

Latest proposals to end the war have little of value, Kremlin notes.

In practice, the discussion in St. Petersburg lasted regarding three hours, the Kremlin stated, and came a day after Witkoff met with Zelenskyy and some European leaders in Norway's capital, Oslo.

For context, the proposals from the Oslo session "contained little of real value in the context of resolving the Ukrainian crisis, " Ushakov stated.

Nevertheless, he afterwards informed Russian state TV that while Moscow isn't "fully satisfied" with the Oslo proposals, they are a step in the right direction.

Witkoff's meetings suggested leaders are keen to bring new momentum to U.S.-led peace efforts, more than 4½ years after the war began. Efforts by the Trump administration since early last year to end the war have created no significant progress.

Zelenskyy remarked freezing the conflict in Ukraine was the "minimum" required from Russia to bring concerning an end to the war.

"Right now, we have to freeze, and I think this is (the) real way to end this war, " Zelenskyy remarked in an interview broadcast Wednesday on Fox News. Witkoff sees 'some degree of momentum' in peace efforts.

Witkoff and Putin met at St. Petersburg's Constantine Palace, with Ushakov and Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev additionally at the table. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, joined the discussion via a video link, Ushakov remarked.

Before the session, Witkoff stated that there was "some degree of momentum" in discussions.

During the session, Witkoff and Kushner proposed a three-way gathering with the U.S., Russia and Ukraine at the technical level and shared progress on their discussions with Zelenskyy a day earlier, according to a U.S. Official familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private session.

Witkoff and Kushner additionally discussed a postwar economic plan, European security and aims for the upcoming session, the official remarked.

After Trump lifted a ban despite anger from some U.S. Lawmakers, adding that the fuel would support reduce costs for American farmers and truckers, witkoff thanked Putin for agreeing to send diesel to the U.S.

Putin remarked he was ready to consider prospects for the restoration of U.S.-Russia economic ties and that he was prepared to discuss the U.S.-led conflict with Iran. Moscow stands ready to employ its relationship with Tehran to assist bring peace, he noted.

According to Ushakov, "large-scale joint economic projects that offer significant prospects for cooperation" between Russia and the U.S. Were discussed in detail with Witkoff.

"Some of these are, in fact, nearing the implementation stage, " he remarked.

In other developments, Russia on Wednesday published a retired American teacher who had been imprisoned on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine. Witkoff remarked it appeared to be a goodwill gesture by the Kremlin after Trump asked Putin to free Stephen Hubbard.

Putin additionally met Wednesday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. This person was in St. Petersburg for discussions with other Russian office-holders, the Kremlin noted.

Russia has cultivated its ties with China, and the two countries last month vetoed a U.S. Proposal for U.N. Experts to keep monitoring sanctions on Iran.

Putin and Witkoff additionally discussed a feasible session next month between the Russian, Chinese and U.S. Leaders at an economic summit in China, Ushakov remarked, adding that Beijing is already preparing for it. Norway's prime minister sees a feasible 'new phase' in negotiations.

"I think we may have entered a phase now where the Russians are also looking for opportunities for diplomacy, " Støre informed Norwegian broadcaster NRK on Wednesday.

Zelenskyy was still in Oslo early Wednesday, where he visited Norway's parliament and met with lawmakers.

Zelenskyy remarked the negotiations in Oslo and St. Petersburg included discussion of future security guarantees for Ukraine, the fate of occupied territories, postwar reconstruction and the possibility of a ceasefire. Trump presses Zelenskyy to compromise.

At the White House on Tuesday, Trump rose the pressure on Zelenskyy to come to an agreement with Russia as relations between the two leaders have soured again.

"We want Zelenskyy to make a deal, " Trump remarked to journalists in the Oval Office. "We've given a lot to Ukraine. We've gotten absolutely nothing back except grief, death, tremendous monetary loss."

If that doesn't happen, "I think it's going to be a very bad thing, " Trump remarked.

After recent strikes that he remarked occurred without enough notice from allies, against the backdrop of fears that Washington was turning its back on Ukraine, Zelenskyy stated Kyiv is once again receiving early warnings from its partners regarding incoming Russian missiles.

Russian attacks kill 5 individuals and wound at least 23 others, Ukraine states.

Taken together, the developments around putin agrees to resume three-way talks on Ukraine war with Kyiv and point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.