Russia says it is "in principle ready" to resume talks with Ukraine and US
Yuri Ushakov announced a possible new round in Abu Dhabi around 10 November after a meeting between Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff.
Russia is "in principle ready" to resume negotiations with the United States and Ukraine aimed at ending the war, Yuri Ushakov, President Vladimir Putin's senior foreign policy adviser, told reporters after a meeting in St. Petersburg.
Ushakov spoke following a session between Putin and Steve Witkoff, the US president's special envoy, who travelled to St. Petersburg after meeting Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo earlier in the week. Ushakov said a new round of talks could take place next month, most likely in Abu Dhabi, and suggested the date could be around 10 November.
Proposed format and recent diplomatic moves
According to a US official speaking on condition of anonymity, Witkoff and Jared Kushner — the former president's son-in-law and another key interlocutor — proposed "a trilateral technical-level meeting between the US, Russia and Ukraine." The official added: "The Ukrainians accepted the proposal yesterday in Oslo, and the Russians today in St. Petersburg."
Ushakov said the talks must focus on "building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the end of the conflict." He also reported that Putin told Witkoff that Russian forces were advancing along a broad front and had a "strategic initiative." Kyiv and its European backers dispute that assessment, describing the front as largely stalemated.
Negotiations aimed at ending the war — which escalated when Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022 — had been dormant since February, Moscow says in part because it accused Kyiv of large-scale strikes on Russian territory during last month's nationwide elections. Russia had for months been reluctant to engage while it judged it was making gains on the battlefield, while Ukraine has complained of critical shortages of interceptors to defend against deadly Russian missile strikes.
The latest diplomatic shuttle has occurred amid growing strains between Kyiv and Washington over tactics and goals. Still, the possible Abu Dhabi talks would mark a notable re-entry of all three sides into a formal discussion aimed at a political settlement.
Photo: press material from the event
