# Russia signals readiness to resume Ukraine peace talks

> Putin's aide says talks could resume next month after Trump's envoy visits St Petersburg, as Ukraine presses for negotiations.
- Title: Russia signals readiness to resume Ukraine peace talks
- Summary: Putin's aide says talks could resume next month after Trump's envoy visits St Petersburg, as Ukraine presses for negotiations. Russia says it is ready to…
- Keywords: russia, ukraine, vladimir putin, volodymyr zelensky, steve witkoff, peace talks, war in ukraine, united states, donald trump, news, world, signals
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq3djn5nxx12o
- Published: 2026-10-21T15:56:21.452+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: russia, ukraine, vladimir putin, volodymyr zelensky, steve witkoff, peace talks, war in ukraine, united states, donald trump, news, world
## Russia ready to resume talks
Vladimir Putin's top aide Yuri Ushakov said Russia is ready in principle to resume talks with the US and Ukraine on ending the conflict.
## Witkoff meets Putin in St Petersburg
US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in the Russian city of St Petersburg. The latest talks lasted about three hours.
## Witkoff's diplomatic tour
Witkoff visited Oslo on Monday to meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of Norway and Finland before travelling to St Petersburg.
## Zelensky's proposals discussed
Zelensky said after talks in Oslo that strong security guarantees for Ukraine and energy ceasefire proposals had been discussed. Ushakov said their ideas were not very useful.
## Talks could resume in November
Ushakov suggested a new round of talks could be held around ten November in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
## Trilateral meeting proposed
A US official said Witkoff and Jared Kushner proposed a trilateral meeting at the technical level between the US, Russia and Ukraine. Both accepted.
## Zelensky's minimum demand
Zelensky said he would accept a deal that would freeze the war along the current front line, calling it the minimum needed from Russia today.

> Freeze and stop. And of course this is minimum what we need from Russia today.
## US-Ukraine tensions simmer
Trump said Ukraine needs a new president and somebody else to negotiate. Zelensky and Ukraine's allies criticised Trump's lifting of sanctions on Russia.
## American prisoner released
Before talks began, Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a seventy four year old American citizen who had been given a jail sentence of nearly seven years for allegedly fighting for Ukraine.
## Key takeaway

Russia says it is ready to resume talks with the US and Ukraine to end the war, with a possible new round in November.