Russia is prepared in principle to restart negotiations with Ukraine and the United States aimed at ending the war, a senior aide to President Vladimir Putin has said, raising the possibility of a new round of discussions next month.
Yuri Ushakov made the remarks after Putin met US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in St Petersburg on Wednesday. The meeting lasted approximately three hours.
Ushakov suggested that negotiations could resume around 10 November in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. He stressed that discussions should focus on establishing a post-war security framework for both Russia and Ukraine.
A US official later told the BBC that Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and another key negotiator, had proposed a trilateral meeting involving US, Russian and Ukrainian officials at the technical level during talks in Oslo on Tuesday. According to the official, Ukraine accepted the proposal in Oslo, while Russia agreed during Wednesday’s meeting in St Petersburg.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies have been urging Moscow to return to negotiations, which were suspended in February. The Kremlin previously blamed large-scale Ukrainian strikes on Russia during its general elections last month for disrupting the diplomatic process.
Russia has resisted renewed negotiations in recent months, believing its forces hold the advantage on the battlefield. Ushakov said Putin repeated that Russian troops were advancing along the extensive front line and maintained the “strategic initiative.”
Ukraine and its European partners have challenged Moscow’s assessment, describing the fighting as largely deadlocked. Kyiv is also confronting a shortage of air defence interceptors as Russian missile attacks continue.
Witkoff travelled to Russia after meeting Zelensky and the leaders of Norway and Finland in Oslo on Monday. Ushakov dismissed the ideas presented during those discussions as not particularly useful.
The latest diplomatic efforts come amid increasing tensions between Washington and Kyiv. Trump has said Ukraine should elect a new president and recently suggested that someone else should negotiate on the country’s behalf.
The US president has also blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries for contributing to rising fuel prices ahead of next month’s US midterm elections. Prices have increased since the US-led war against Iran began.
European leaders have expressed concern over Washington’s recent statements on Russia and its approach to the conflict.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, officials from Russia, Ukraine and the United States have held several rounds of negotiations aimed at finding a resolution, but no lasting agreement has been reached.
