Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, announced on Wednesday that he is "principally" ready for Moscow to resume its talks with Washington and Kyiv. These remarks were made during his meeting with Steve Vitkoff, the special representative of the former President of the United States, in St. Petersburg.
Start of tripartite negotiations in November
Yuri Ushakov, one of Putin's senior advisors, told reporters that Moscow is ready to restart tripartite negotiations in November. Ushakov also noted that "the conflict in Ukraine is coming to an end" and said that these talks may take place in Abu Dhabi.
Vitkoff confirmed on his social media account on X (Twitter) that negotiations "at the technical level" between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine will continue. This trip was part of new U.S. efforts to bring Moscow back to the negotiating table in order to end the war against Ukraine.
Meetings and challenges of negotiations
On Tuesday, Vitkoff also met with Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, in Oslo and afterward announced that a proposal for tripartite negotiations among the leaders of the two countries and the United States had been made. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, several rounds of talks between the United States and Russia have taken place. However, the last negotiations were halted in February when the United States and Israel began their war against Iran.
Previous negotiations have largely been viewed as a political show and have had little success in stopping hostilities, exchanging prisoners of war, or agreeing on ceasefires and attacks on energy infrastructure. Ushakov also reported earlier this week that Moscow has proposed holding a high-level meeting with China and the United States to negotiate an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, images of Vitkoff were released showing him praising Putin during face-to-face negotiations after the Russians freed an American prisoner from captivity. Vitkoff wrote on his account on X: "These negotiations were constructive and will continue with tripartite talks between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine at the technical level."
