Russia agrees with the US and Ukraine in principle to resume peace talks; US-China-Russia summit also possible next month

Russia has agreed in principle to resume trilateral negotiations with the US and Ukraine next month. Attention is now focused on whether multilateral diplomatic talks aimed at ending the war can get back on track more than eight months after they were suspended last February.
On the 21st (local time), the Associated Press reported that Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin foreign affairs aide, said at a briefing following a meeting in Saint Petersburg between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff that “President Putin agreed in principle to resume trilateral talks after November 10.” The talks are expected to focus on establishing security arrangements for Russia and Ukraine after the war.
The meeting, held for about three hours at Konstantinovsky Palace in Saint Petersburg, was attended by Putin and US envoy Witkoff, as well as Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a former senior White House adviser, who joined by video. The US side reportedly shared the results of discussions the previous day in Oslo, Norway, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, and proposed working-level talks among the three countries.
According to sources familiar with the closed-door meeting, the US side discussed postwar economic reconstruction plans, the European security landscape and preparations for a future summit. Putin also signaled potential cooperation between the US and Russia, including restoring their economic ties and mediating in the Iran crisis. Ushakov said, “Concrete discussions were held on large-scale joint economic projects between the two countries.”
The push to resume the talks came as US President Donald Trump was applying strong pressure on Ukraine to reach a negotiated settlement. Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump sharply criticized Ukraine, saying, “We want Zelensky to make a deal,” and “We have provided a great deal of support to Ukraine, but all we got in return was losses and tragedy.”
Putin also met with Li Qiang, Premier of China’s State Council, and the possibility of a trilateral summit between the leaders of the US, Russia and China during next month’s APEC summit in China is growing. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin and Witkoff discussed the possibility of holding such a summit and that the Chinese government had already begun preparations.
In an interview with Fox News Channel after the Saint Petersburg meeting, President Zelenskyy said the most realistic way to end the war would be to stop fighting along the current front line.
He strongly insisted that although Ukraine was willing to take part in negotiations in any format, the Ukrainian government, as a party to the conflict, must participate directly. He also stressed that any ceasefire agreement must be contingent on firm security guarantees from the US and its European allies, explaining that only with such guarantees would Ukrainians “not live in fear that another invasion, occupation or killing will begin.”
In a publicly released audio message, President Zelenskyy supported the US push for an early resumption of talks, saying, “The clear agenda is to end the war and bring peace closer,” and adding, “Russia has changed what it says and canceled scheduled meetings, but we’ll see what happens this time.”
Although diplomatic activity is picking up, many hurdles remain before the war can end. Shortly after news broke of the plan to resume negotiations, missile alerts sounded across Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and loud explosions rang out in the night sky. Ukrainian authorities said Russian airstrikes on energy facilities and residential areas around Kyiv and Kharkiv killed at least five people and injured 23. The Russian Defense Ministry also announced that it had shot down 373 Ukrainian drones headed toward Russian territory, as the military confrontation between the two sides remains tense.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said, “Russia may also have entered a phase of seeking diplomatic opportunities,” but added that while Ukraine would find it difficult to formally recognize borders along the current front line, the key question would be whether a realistic compromise could be found.
[email protected] Yoon Jae-joon Reporter