Putin agreed to resume negotiations with Ukraine next month
Putin agreed to resume peace talks with Ukraine mediated by the US next month, following a meeting with envoy Witkoff. The meeting opened with the release of an American teacher. Talks are expected in Abu Dhabi, amid tensions between Washington and Kyiv.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to resume peace talks with Ukraine mediated by the United States as early as next month, the Kremlin announced today (Thursday). The agreement came after a lengthy meeting held yesterday in St. Petersburg between Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff. The meeting, which lasted nearly three hours, opened with a goodwill gesture from Moscow: the release of Stephen Hubbard, a retired American teacher who had been held in detention in Russia. In return, Putin requested exploring the possibility of a trilateral summit in China involving Trump, Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The peace talks are expected to take place in Abu Dhabi starting November 10, at a technical level, and will focus on security guarantees. However, the Kremlin expressed reservations about a meeting Witkoff held in Oslo with Zelensky, and Putin's advisor clarified that the nuances are not entirely satisfactory to Moscow. The contacts occur against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between the US and Ukraine, after Trump announced a diesel export deal with Russia.