Putin Agrees to Trilateral Peace Talks with the US and Ukraine: the Meeting May Be Held in Abu Dhabi, Starting from 10 November
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to restart peace talks with Ukraine next month under US mediation. The Kremlin announced the information on Wednesday (21 October).
The announcement came after a meeting in St Petersburg between Russian President Putin and Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of US President Donald Trump.
It was Putin's ninth face-to-face meeting with the US envoy Witkoff, held at a royal palace in St Petersburg. Welcoming Witkoff, Russia released a retired American schoolteacher named Stephen Hubbard as a gesture of goodwill; Trump had earlier requested the Kremlin chief to free the teacher.
Wednesday's meeting took place amid concerns in Kyiv and among its allies that the United States is distancing itself from Ukraine — at times even withholding real-time intelligence on Russian attacks and weakening Ukraine's military communications.
The breakthrough comes a long two years after Trump had made an election promise to end the war within 24 hours.
The Kremlin said the new trilateral peace talks, to be held at a technical level, could take place in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Starting on or after 10 November, the talks will focus mainly on ways to ensure the security of post-war Ukraine and Russia.
The day before the St Petersburg meeting, Witkoff had met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo, Norway, along with representatives of Finland, Norway, Europe and NATO.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that although some new proposals and ideas came up at that meeting, they could not fully satisfy the Kremlin.
The possible historic meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China next month was also discussed. Putin additionally offered Trump cooperation on Iran's nuclear programme and on maintaining relations with Tehran. Moscow also offered to supply the United States with large quantities of fertiliser to help American farmers.
Yet Ukraine and Russia remain miles apart on the terms of a possible peace deal. Trump has recently pressed Ukraine in strong language to reach a settlement quickly, saying the time for Ukraine to end the war is now, or it will face major consequences.
Putin, meanwhile, remains firm on his core war aims — full control of Donetsk and Kyiv's renunciation of NATO membership. Large joint economic projects were also discussed at the meeting, attended by Putin's special investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner also joined the meeting by phone and put forward some proposals.
Washington-Kyiv relations have come under major strain recently after a diesel export deal was signed with Russia to lower fuel prices ahead of the US midterm elections. As a result, Ukraine allegedly faced obstacles in intelligence sharing and in using the Starshield satellites.
The Wall Street Journal reported that billionaire Elon Musk had ordered Ukraine's military Starlink service to be slowed down. Musk and the Trump administration have denied the allegation. Zelensky said both sides reached an understanding at the Oslo meeting to resolve the Starlink and other problems. If the Abu Dhabi talks do begin, and if any understanding is reached there on security guarantees, that will be the next big test on the road to stopping the war.
