Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to resume three-way peace\nnegotiations with Ukraine, mediated by the United States, as early as\nnext month. The agreement followed a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff\nin St Petersburg, part of Washington\u2019s latest effort to end the bloody\nconflict in Europe.<\/p>\n
Reuters reported on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, that the meeting was\nthe ninth in-person encounter between Witkoff and Putin. It began with a\ngoodwill gesture from Russia: the Kremlin formally released Stephen\nHubbard, a retired American schoolteacher, at the specific request of US\nPresident Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
The technical three-way talks are reportedly planned for 10 November\nor later, possibly in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n
The discussions are expected to focus on security guarantees for\nUkraine and Russia after the war. They would be the first peace talks\nsince February, shortly before the US and Israel launched a war against\nIran. The move comes more than two years after Trump pledged during his\nelection campaign to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours.<\/p>\n
The meeting took place amid concern in Kyiv and among its allies that\nthe US is beginning to distance itself and withhold intelligence and\nmilitary communications. The previous day, Witkoff held talks in Oslo\nwith Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the leaders of Finland and\nNorway, and European and NATO representatives.<\/p>\n
Witkoff said the Oslo talks had gained a degree of momentum, while US\nofficials said Ukraine had brought forward a range of new ideas and\nproposals.<\/p>\n
However, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov responded coolly after the meeting\nin St Petersburg, which lasted almost three hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese nuances, one might say, did not entirely satisfy us,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Trump has also recently stepped up pressure on Ukraine to reach a\npeace deal soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is time for Ukraine to end the war or face something really bad,\u201d\nTrump said.<\/p>\n
Aside from Ukraine, Putin used the talks to offer Trump help in\ndealing with the crisis involving Iran, drawing on Russia\u2019s decades-long\nrelationship with Tehran. Russia also publicly offered to supply large\nquantities of fertiliser to US farmers.<\/p>\n
Putin\u2019s special investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, also attended the\nnegotiations to discuss a large-scale joint economic project that is\nclose to being realised.<\/p>\n
Witkoff said he had brought documents containing ideas for a peace\nagreement for Putin to review. Trump\u2019s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also\njoined by telephone to present his ideas. Beijing is reportedly\npreparing a historic meeting between Trump, Putin and Chinese President\nXi Jinping for next month.<\/p>\n
Although peace negotiations are being revived, Putin has shown no\nsign of compromising on his main war aims: full control of the Donetsk\nregion, rejecting NATO membership for Kyiv, and securing a comprehensive\npeace agreement rather than a temporary ceasefire.<\/p>\n
Zelensky hopes to discuss these key issues at a trilateral meeting\nwith Putin and Trump. The Kremlin, however, has said that a meeting\nbetween Putin and Zelensky would require extensive preparation by aides\nto ensure it is worthwhile.<\/p>\n
US-Ukraine relations have reportedly deteriorated since Trump\nannounced a diesel export deal with Russia earlier this month, intended\nto lower high fuel prices in the US ahead of November\u2019s midterm\nelections amid the impact of the Iran war. Since the fuel deal, Ukraine\nhas complained of disruptions to intelligence-sharing and access to the\nStarshield military satellite system, although Zelensky said Tuesday\u2019s\nmeeting in Oslo had produced an agreement to resolve the issues.<\/p>\n
The Wall Street Journal has also reported that billionaire Elon Musk\nallegedly ordered a slowdown in the military-grade Starlink satellite\nservice last week, despite Ukraine\u2019s heavy reliance on it to track\nRussian ballistic missile attacks. Musk argued that such a decision\ncould only be made by the US military or the president, while Trump\ndenied responsibility for the slowdown.<\/p>\n
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio again denied the report on\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWashington has not withdrawn Kyiv\u2019s ability to access Starlink,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/putin-agrees-to-peace-talks-as-three-powers-set-to-meet-in-china-1792655439", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }