Putin Agrees to Peace Talks as Three Powers Set to Meet in China
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to resume three-way peace negotiations with Ukraine, mediated by the United States, as early as next month. The agreement followed a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg, part of Washington’s latest effort to end the bloody conflict in Europe.
Reuters reported on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, that the meeting was the ninth in-person encounter between Witkoff and Putin. It began with a goodwill gesture from Russia: the Kremlin formally released Stephen Hubbard, a retired American schoolteacher, at the specific request of US President Donald Trump.
The technical three-way talks are reportedly planned for 10 November or later, possibly in Abu Dhabi.
The discussions are expected to focus on security guarantees for Ukraine and Russia after the war. They would be the first peace talks since February, shortly before the US and Israel launched a war against Iran. The move comes more than two years after Trump pledged during his election campaign to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours.
The meeting took place amid concern in Kyiv and among its allies that the US is beginning to distance itself and withhold intelligence and military communications. The previous day, Witkoff held talks in Oslo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the leaders of Finland and Norway, and European and NATO representatives.
Witkoff said the Oslo talks had gained a degree of momentum, while US officials said Ukraine had brought forward a range of new ideas and proposals.
However, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov responded coolly after the meeting in St Petersburg, which lasted almost three hours.
“These nuances, one might say, did not entirely satisfy us,” he said.
Trump has also recently stepped up pressure on Ukraine to reach a peace deal soon.
“It is time for Ukraine to end the war or face something really bad,” Trump said.
Aside from Ukraine, Putin used the talks to offer Trump help in dealing with the crisis involving Iran, drawing on Russia’s decades-long relationship with Tehran. Russia also publicly offered to supply large quantities of fertiliser to US farmers.
Putin’s special investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, also attended the negotiations to discuss a large-scale joint economic project that is close to being realised.
Witkoff said he had brought documents containing ideas for a peace agreement for Putin to review. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined by telephone to present his ideas. Beijing is reportedly preparing a historic meeting between Trump, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping for next month.
Although peace negotiations are being revived, Putin has shown no sign of compromising on his main war aims: full control of the Donetsk region, rejecting NATO membership for Kyiv, and securing a comprehensive peace agreement rather than a temporary ceasefire.
Zelensky hopes to discuss these key issues at a trilateral meeting with Putin and Trump. The Kremlin, however, has said that a meeting between Putin and Zelensky would require extensive preparation by aides to ensure it is worthwhile.
US-Ukraine relations have reportedly deteriorated since Trump announced a diesel export deal with Russia earlier this month, intended to lower high fuel prices in the US ahead of November’s midterm elections amid the impact of the Iran war. Since the fuel deal, Ukraine has complained of disruptions to intelligence-sharing and access to the Starshield military satellite system, although Zelensky said Tuesday’s meeting in Oslo had produced an agreement to resolve the issues.
The Wall Street Journal has also reported that billionaire Elon Musk allegedly ordered a slowdown in the military-grade Starlink satellite service last week, despite Ukraine’s heavy reliance on it to track Russian ballistic missile attacks. Musk argued that such a decision could only be made by the US military or the president, while Trump denied responsibility for the slowdown.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio again denied the report on Wednesday.
“Washington has not withdrawn Kyiv’s ability to access Starlink,” he said.