Putin and Zelenskyy back three-way US peace talks on Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have both expressed support for a United States proposal to hold three-way talks to end the conflict in Ukraine.

The Kremlin said Putin conveyed his “in principle” willingness to engage in negotiations during a meeting in St Petersburg with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday.

Speaking to journalists via WhatsApp as he returned to Kyiv from Norway, Zelenskyy confirmed Ukraine’s interest in the talks, which he said should take place no later than early November.

Zelenskyy added that he had spoken with US officials following Witkoff’s discussions with Putin.

“We have received feedback that… Russia supports a trilateral meeting at the level of our [negotiating] teams,” Zelenskyy said.

“The American side has proposed holding it as soon as possible and we support that… The Ukrainian side has been in contact with its American partners. They will do everything to ensure that the meeting takes place as early as possible, in November. I think no later than early November.”

Zelenskyy said Kyiv supports “any proposals for a ceasefire, an end to the war, an energy ceasefire as well as humanitarian initiatives”.

The diplomatic effort comes as Washington pushes for an end to the war in Ukraine, which began more than four and a half years ago with Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

Witkoff held talks with Putin on Wednesday after meeting with Ukrainian and European officials in Norway a day earlier.

“Steve Witkoff briefed Vladimir Putin on the substance of the talks held in Oslo,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, referring to talks Witkoff held in Norway with Ukrainian and European officials on Tuesday.

“He mentioned some new aspects in the approaches of the Europeans and Kyiv … but there wasn’t really much substance in them.”

“Our president informed Steve Witkoff that we are, in principle, ready to resume the mentioned talks [with Washington and Kyiv],” he added, saying they could take place in mid-November.

He later told Russian state television Vesti that the talks may be held in Abu Dhabi.

The last US-mediated peace ⁠talks took place in February before the United States and ⁠Israel launched a war against Iran.

Goodwill gesture

The three-hour talks in a grand imperial palace in St Petersburg, the ninth time that Witkoff has met Putin in person, began with ⁠a goodwill gesture from Russia – the release of Stephen Hubbard, a retired US teacher held in Russia.

Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow, said Russia is obviously interested in the lifting of international sanctions, and US sanctions in particular.

“The Trump administration is using economic leverage to encourage Moscow to finish this war, including the temporary lifting of US sanctions on Russian diesel sales,” she said.

Putin also thanked US President Donald Trump and Witkoff for their efforts to end the war.

Ukraine and Russia remain far apart when it comes to the terms of any possible peace deal, but Trump has recently intensified pressure on Ukraine to “make a deal”. He said on Tuesday that it was time for Ukraine to end the war or face “a very bad thing”.

Putin also offered to help Trump in dealing with Iran, saying Moscow had a decades-long relationship with Tehran, which it has repeatedly offered to leverage to address US concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme.

Russia could also supply large quantities of fertiliser to the US to help farmers, Putin told Witkoff.

A potential meeting in China next month with Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping was also discussed. The Kremlin said Beijing was already preparing what it said would be the first trilateral meeting of its kind in history.

Oslo talks

The talks in Russia come a day after Witkoff met Ukraine’s Zelenskyy and European leaders in Norway. Witkoff briefed Putin on the Oslo talks, which he described as productive and said had been characterised by “some degree of momentum”.

The prime ministers of Norway and Finland also attended the talks in Oslo. Representatives from the European Union and NATO were present. Following Tuesday’s talks, Zelenskyy said that “very, very important” intelligence from the US had been restored.

US-Ukraine ties have deteriorated sharply since Trump announced a diesel export deal with Russia earlier this month.

Zelenskyy has also accused Washington of slowing down the internet service Starshield, which is crucial for Ukraine’s battlefield operations. Starshield is the military-grade equivalent of Starlink – both developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

As diplomatic efforts intensify, Russia and Ukraine continue to trade long-range attacks.

At least one person was killed and two were wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s western Bryansk region on Wednesday, Governor Yegor Kovalchuk said on Telegram.

The Ukrainian emergency service said two people were killed in a Russian attack on a high-rise building in the Sviatoshynskyi district of the capital, Kyiv.