Ukraine has backed a U.S. proposal for Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. negotiating teams to meet soon, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the final schedule was still unknown to him. The different timetables leave open when the next round could begin.
Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Kyiv had received Washington’s account of a meeting in St. Petersburg between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. He said Moscow favored talks between negotiating teams and the U.S. side wanted them arranged quickly. Zelenskyy said Ukraine agreed, adding, “We support this.”
He said the teams would set priorities for ending the war and paving the way for a later meeting between the leaders. Zelenskyy said he expected the proposed session by early November at the latest, but he did not know the final date. He added that Ukraine’s negotiators would support cease-fire proposals and humanitarian steps, including prisoner exchanges.
Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said Putin told Witkoff that Moscow was willing in principle to restart the three-country peace process around Nov. 10. Ushakov said the St. Petersburg meeting lasted about three hours. He described Moscow’s particular concern in the proposed negotiations as building a postwar security system for Russia and Ukraine.
The two proposed windows differ: Kyiv’s expectation is early November, while Ushakov cited around Nov. 10 for Moscow’s readiness. Witkoff said on X that the effort would move into technical discussions among the three sides. He also described two days of conversations with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, in St. Petersburg and Oslo as “constructive.”
The proposal continues a debate over timing and format covered in EconoTimes’ earlier report on Moscow’s Nov. 10 proposal and Kyiv’s preference for earlier team talks. Zelenskyy said the teams’ work would also prepare for a later meeting among national leaders.
