Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has said Russia is ready to resume trilateral peace negotiations with the United States and Ukraine in mid-November, following a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday.
Putin and Witkoff discussed a proposed framework for the talks during their meeting in St Petersburg, according to Russian state media.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian government believed US President Donald Trump was committed to finding a peaceful solution to the conflict.
“We see that (U.S.) President (Donald) Trump is quite sincere and consistent in his wish to facilitate a peaceful resolution and to set everything on the path toward a peace settlement,” Peskov told Russian state media.
Witkoff’s visit to Russia came a day after he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies in Oslo, Norway, on October 20 to discuss peace proposals intended for the Kremlin.
Zelensky and his European partners supported the resumption of trilateral negotiations during the discussions, as diplomatic efforts to end the war continued.
The latest push for peace comes amid intensified Russian attacks on Ukraine, which have resulted in a growing number of civilian casualties.
The United Nations Human Rights Office reported in early October that an average of more than 400 civilians were killed or injured weekly in Ukraine during the first eight months of 2026.
The figure represented a 55 per cent increase compared with the corresponding period in 2025.
Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting between Putin and Witkoff, Trump issued a broad waiver of sanctions on October 16 under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act.
Trump defended the decision against criticism, claiming on Wednesday that the move had helped secure the release of US prisoner Stephen Hubbard.
Following Hubbard’s release, Witkoff described Putin as a “humanitarian.”
