Staff Report
Russia and Ukraine have both indicated willingness to resume three-way negotiations with the United States, even as the two countries traded missile and drone strikes overnight, underscoring the gap between diplomatic signals and conditions on the ground.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Russia is “in principle, ready to resume” trilateral talks in mid-November, after the US midterm elections, and said Moscow wants the discussions to center on post-war security arrangements.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Kyiv’s support for restarting the format as well, telling journalists, “The American side is proposing to organise this meeting as soon as possible. We are in favour of it.”
The renewed openness to talks follows a meeting in St. Petersburg between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff, who described the discussions as "constructive" while cautioning that "there is still important work left to do."
Witkoff said technical-level discussions between the US, Ukraine and Russia would continue in the meantime, suggesting the push toward a full trilateral meeting is being built up gradually rather than scheduled immediately.
With both sides publicly on board for a November sitdown but fighting continuing in parallel, the coming weeks are likely to test whether the diplomatic track can actually translate into a reduction in hostilities, or whether talks and combat will simply continue to run on separate tracks.
