Russia Says It Is Ready in Principle to Resume Talks With Ukraine and US
Talks suspended in February could restart next month, with a new round possibly around 10 November
By AXY War & Crime Desk ·
Key points
- Russia's top aide Yuriy Ushakov said Moscow is "ready in principle" to resume talks with the US and Ukraine to end the war.
- Ushakov suggested a new round could be held around 10 November, after the talks were suspended in February.
- Ushakov said any talks must focus on building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends.
- Ushakov said the ideas Witkoff brought to Moscow were not very "useful", even as Russia kept the door open to talks.
Russia is "ready in principle" to resume talks with the United States and Ukraine on ending the war, Yuriy Ushakov, a top aide to President Vladimir Putin, has said. He spoke to reporters after Putin met Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of US President Donald Trump, in the Russian city of St Petersburg. The meeting lasted about three hours.
Ushakov said a new round of talks could be held around 10 November. That date is tentative, not a confirmed booking, but it gives a stalled diplomatic process something it has lacked for months: a possible time frame. Kyiv has been pressing Moscow for an immediate restart, so the two sides are still far apart on timing.
The announcement matters because the talks in question are unusual in their format. They are trilateral, a term that simply means three parties sit down together. In this case those parties are Russia, Ukraine and the United States. Bringing three governments into the same room is harder than arranging a meeting between two, so a pause in these meetings means there is no regular forum where the three sides can raise their concerns.
Where the talks stand
Top officials from Russia, Ukraine and the United States have held several rounds of talks aimed at ending the war. Those meetings were put on hold in February, and since then there has been no scheduled round that both Kyiv and Moscow have agreed to. Ushakov's comments are the clearest sign in months that Moscow is willing to return to the table, even if it has not committed to a date.
The two sides are not yet on the same page. Kyiv wants an immediate resumption. Moscow is offering a later date and attaching conditions of its own. That gap is not unusual in negotiations of this kind, where timing, venue and agenda are often disputed before any substance is discussed. Each of those disputes can delay a meeting by weeks, which is why the phrase "could be held" carries so much weight in the reporting.
For ordinary readers, the key point is simple. When talks are paused, no official channel exists for raising questions about the war in a structured way. A restart would not end the fighting by itself, but it would reopen a route through which governments can exchange proposals and test each other's positions.
Why the talks were suspended
The Kremlin, which is the name used for the Russian government's executive office in Moscow and often stands in for the government as a whole, has blamed Ukraine for the pause. It pointed to what it called "massive" Ukrainian strikes on Russia last month as the reason the talks were disrupted. The source material does not give details about those strikes, including where they hit or what damage they caused, so readers should treat the Kremlin's account as Moscow's own version of events.
The Kremlin's framing matters because it shapes the conditions under which Russia says it will talk. If Moscow sees Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory as a reason to stall, then any new round will have to address that grievance in some form, or at least the sides will have to agree to set it aside. The source does not say whether Ukraine has responded to the Kremlin's claim.
The current stage of the conflict has deep roots. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, turning a war that had already been running in parts of eastern Ukraine since 2014 into a much larger conflict across the country. Since then, peace efforts have repeatedly started and stalled. Each pause has left the same core questions unresolved, including what territory would be discussed, what security guarantees Ukraine would receive, and how any agreement would be enforced. Those questions explain why even a modest announcement about talks draws close attention from governments, aid groups and families affected by the fighting.
Witkoff's trip through several capitals
Witkoff's trip covered several capitals in a short span. According to the source, he met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, along with the leaders of Norway and Finland. He then travelled to Moscow for the meeting with Putin in St Petersburg. The source does not describe what was discussed with the Norwegian and Finnish leaders, so readers should not assume a specific role for either country in the talks.
A special envoy is a government's personal representative, usually sent on a specific assignment rather than posted to a country as an ambassador. Witkoff's role has put him at the centre of contacts between Washington and both Kyiv and Moscow. The sequence of his meetings shows that the United States is still working through several capitals at once, rather than relying on a single channel.
Ushakov did not praise what Witkoff brought to the table. He said the envoy's ideas were not very "useful". That is a blunt assessment, and it suggests Moscow did not see the proposals as a basis for an agreement. Yet Russia still chose to say publicly that it was willing to return to talks. That combination of criticism and openness is common in diplomacy. It often means both sides want to keep a channel open while they disagree on substance.
What Moscow says a deal must cover
Ushakov stressed that any talks must focus on "building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the end of the conflict." In plain terms, a security system means the arrangements that would govern how the two countries live side by side once fighting stops. That could include limits on the forces each side can deploy, the guarantees each expects from outside powers, and the mechanisms for checking that promises are kept.
Ukraine has long asked for firm security guarantees against any future attack, and it has wanted those guarantees backed by partner countries. Moscow has long opposed Ukraine joining Western military alliances, including NATO, and has argued that its own security concerns must be addressed in any settlement. Analysts say that putting a "security system" at the centre of the agenda is a way for Moscow to shape the discussion before the parties turn to a ceasefire or territory. The source does not say whether Ukraine has accepted that framing.
The order of issues matters as much as the issues themselves. Starting with security arrangements, rather than an immediate halt to fighting, reflects a position Russia has held for some time. Whether the other two parties accept that sequence will likely shape how quickly the next round can produce anything concrete. If Kyiv and Washington insist on a ceasefire first, the early sessions could be spent arguing about procedure rather than substance.
Why the war-crimes question is still in the room
The war has been the subject of investigations by international bodies into alleged violations of the laws of war. The International Criminal Court, a permanent court in The Hague that prosecutes individuals for the most serious crimes, issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023. The warrant concerns the alleged unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children. Russia does not accept the court's jurisdiction and has denied wrongdoing. The source material does not link these legal cases to the current talks, but they form part of the wider context in which any settlement would be negotiated.
Any peace deal would have to decide how past abuses are handled. That includes whether accountability is pursued through courts, set aside for the sake of an agreement, or addressed through some other arrangement. Those choices are politically sensitive, and they are one reason negotiators often disagree about sequencing, since questions of justice can be raised at any stage.
For people living through the conflict, these questions are not abstract. Families in Ukraine have lived with missile and drone attacks for years, and people on both sides have been displaced from their homes. A durable agreement would need to address not only where the front line sits, but also who can return home, who is being held, and how civilians will be protected in the years after any ceasefire. Those concrete matters are what ordinary people will feel first if talks succeed or fail.
What to watch next
The first thing to watch is whether the 10 November date holds. Ushakov's comments were tentative, and past rounds of talks have been delayed by disputes over the agenda, the venue and the participants. If Ukraine and the United States confirm that they will attend, that would be the first clear sign that the process has regained momentum.
Second, watch whether Moscow's complaint about Ukrainian strikes is addressed in any way. The Kremlin has made clear that it sees those attacks as a reason for the talks to stall. A new round that ignores that grievance could struggle to make progress, while a round that acknowledges it might give the sides a way to move forward.
Third, watch the substance of any new proposals. Witkoff's trip suggests Washington is still trying to find common ground between the parties. Analysts expect the coming weeks to show whether Russia's "ready in principle" position turns into a formal agenda or remains a statement of intent. The announcement means talks may resume. It does not guarantee that they will produce an end to the fighting, and the source material does not indicate that any agreement is close.
Questions and answers
Is Russia ready to resume talks to end the war in Ukraine?
Yes, according to Yuriy Ushakov, a top aide to Vladimir Putin, Russia is "ready in principle" to resume talks with the US and Ukraine. He made the comments after Putin met US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg.
When could the next Russia Ukraine peace talks happen?
Ushakov suggested a new round could be held around 10 November. The date is not confirmed, and the talks were suspended in February.
Why were the Russia, Ukraine and US talks suspended?
The Kremlin blamed what it called "massive" Ukrainian strikes on Russia last month for disrupting the talks. Kyiv has been pressing Moscow for an immediate resumption.
What does Russia want from the next round of talks?
Ushakov said the talks must focus on "building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the end of the conflict." He also said Witkoff's ideas were not very "useful".
Topics: Russia Ukraine war, Vladimir Putin, Steve Witkoff, Yuriy Ushakov, Ukraine peace talks, Donald Trump, St Petersburg
Sources: BBC News