U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff proposed technical talks among the United States, Russia and Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 21, while Kyiv sought a separate meeting of national leaders.
Putin’s aide Yury Ushakov said Moscow was willing in principle to return to three-way negotiations around Nov. 10, with security arrangements for Russia and Ukraine on the agenda. He gave no fixed date or venue.
Witkoff told Putin he had brought written ideas for a peace deal after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo on Oct. 20. During their meeting in St. Petersburg, Witkoff urged Putin to consider discussions among technical teams.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would assess ideas Witkoff had carried from Ukrainian and European representatives. Witkoff later said discussions among the three countries would continue at the technical level.
Zelenskyy proposed a meeting of the three countries’ leaders, saying some issues required decisions at that level. Ukraine’s presidential office said the Oslo discussions included security guarantees and that Witkoff would brief Kyiv after his visit to Russia.
The possible November round has no confirmed date, venue or participants. None of the officials’ statements announced a leaders’ meeting or agreed peace terms.
