Russia said Wednesday it is "ready in principle" to resume negotiations with the US and Ukraine to end the war, according to Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin's top aide. Ushakov made the statement after Putin met with US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg for approximately three hours.
Ushakov suggested a new round of talks could occur around November 10 in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. He stressed that negotiations must focus on "building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the end of the conflict."
A US official told the BBC that Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner proposed a trilateral meeting at the technical level between the US, Russia and Ukraine. The official said the Ukrainians accepted this proposal in Oslo on Tuesday and the Russians accepted it in St Petersburg on Wednesday.
Witkoff traveled to St Petersburg after meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of Norway and Finland in Oslo on Monday. Ushakov dismissed their ideas as not very "useful."
Top officials from Russia, Ukraine and the US held several rounds of talks aimed at ending the conflict that began in February 2022. The talks were suspended in February 2025, with the Kremlin blaming last month's Ukrainian strikes on Russia during its general elections for the disruption.
Russia had refused talks for months, claiming it is winning on the battlefield while Ukraine faces shortages of interceptors against Russian missile attacks. During Wednesday's meeting, Ushakov said Putin reiterated to Witkoff that Russian troops were advancing everywhere across the front line and held strategic initiative. Ukraine and its European allies dispute this claim, pointing to a virtual stalemate.
The talks occurred amid growing tensions between Ukraine and the US. Trump recently suggested Ukraine needs a new president and "somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine." European leaders have expressed concern about recent US statements toward Russia.