Putin Says Russia Is Ready to Return to Three-Way Talks Around Nov. 10. Trump's Diplomacy Got Him There, Now Hold Him to It
After nearly three hours with envoy Steve Witkoff on Oct. 21, the Kremlin said Russia is ready "in principle" to resume U.S.-Russia-Ukraine talks, possibly in Abu Dhabi, and freed American Stephen Hubbard without a swap. In our view, it is a real step, and Moscow must now bring more than a seat at the table.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 22, 2026 | 6-min read For weeks, talks to end the war in Ukraine were stuck. On Wednesday, after nearly three hours with President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin said Russia is ready "in principle" to resume three-way talks with the United States and Ukraine around Nov. 10 [1][2]. In our view, that is a real step, and American diplomacy produced it, and the next job is to make sure Moscow arrives ready to deal, not to stall. Key Takeaways Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Russia is, in principle, ready to resume trilateral talks around Nov. 10 on a post-war security system for Russia and Ukraine [1]. A U.S. official told Axios that Witkoff and Jared Kushner proposed technical-level trilateral talks, which Ukraine accepted in Oslo and Russia accepted in St. Petersburg [2]. The Kremlin said Abu Dhabi is under consideration as the venue [3]. Russia released American Stephen Hubbard, 74, held since April 2022; President Trump said the U.S. gave nothing in return [2][4]. Russia's strikes on Ukraine continued the