Russia has agreed in principle to restart three-way talks with Ukraine and the United States after Nov. 10, reopening a diplomatic track that has been stalled since February even as the fighting continues.
The announcement followed a nearly three-hour meeting Wednesday in St. Petersburg between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff. Kremlin foreign-policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said the talks could take place in Abu Dhabi and would focus at a technical level on security arrangements for Russia and Ukraine after the war, according to reports from The Associated Press and Reuters.
Why this is a meaningful opening
If the meeting occurs, it would be the first U.S.-mediated session involving all three countries since February. Representatives met three times early this year—twice in Abu Dhabi and once in Geneva—but reported little progress beyond prisoner exchanges.
Wednesday’s commitment does not amount to a ceasefire, a peace framework or even a final date. It does, however, restore a channel where negotiators can test proposals directly rather than through public statements and intermediaries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he supports moving quickly and wants the process to prepare for an eventual leaders’ meeting. A day before Witkoff traveled to Russia, he met Zelenskyy, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and other European and NATO representatives in Oslo.
Ukraine’s presidential office said those discussions covered security guarantees, sanctions, reconstruction, air defense and possible steps toward a partial ceasefire. Kyiv also pressed the principle that decisions about Ukraine cannot be made without Ukraine, according to the official Ukrainian account.
The hardest disputes remain
The gap between Moscow and Kyiv is still wide. Putin has shown little willingness to retreat from core demands that include Russian control of the Donetsk region, a permanent bar on Ukrainian NATO membership and a comprehensive settlement rather than a temporary truce. Ukraine, meanwhile, says any agreement must preserve its sovereignty and include durable security guarantees.
The Kremlin also gave a restrained assessment of the proposals Witkoff carried from Oslo. Ushakov said Moscow was not fully satisfied, while acknowledging that the ideas moved in the right direction. That combination—agreement to meet, paired with public skepticism—shows why the November talks are better understood as a test of diplomatic traction than a breakthrough.
An American’s release added a goodwill signal
Russia also released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired U.S. teacher who had spent more than four years in Russian custody on allegations that he fought as a mercenary for Ukraine. Hubbard’s lawyers and family denied the accusations, and the U.S. government had classified him as wrongfully detained.
President Donald Trump said he had asked Putin to free Hubbard and that the United States gave up no prisoner in exchange. The release, completed during Witkoff’s visit, supplied a limited goodwill gesture alongside the larger negotiation announcement, though it offered no evidence that Moscow’s war aims have changed.
What to watch next
The first indicator will be whether Russia, Ukraine and the United States settle on a date, venue and delegation after Nov. 10. The next will be the agenda: security guarantees, ceasefire sequencing, territorial control, sanctions and prisoner exchanges all remain possible pressure points.
For now, the development is narrow but consequential. Diplomacy is back on the calendar. Whether it changes the war will depend on what the three sides are prepared to put on the table—and what they are willing to move.
