Russian leader Vladimir Putin has agreed to resume peace talks with negotiators from Ukraine and the United States, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
According to the AP, the talks are set to pick back up on Nov. 10. The outlet cited Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, as the source of the timeline.
The development follows a meeting between Putin and Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy. After the sit-down, Witkoff described the Russian leader as a “humanitarian” for securing the release of Stephen Hubbard, an American teacher who had been held by Russia.
The renewed talks come on the heels of another diplomatic overture from the Kremlin. Earlier this month, Putin reportedly proposed a summit with Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Notably, the proposed meeting would have left out Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Putin floated the idea of the three-way meeting during an Oct. 9 phone call with Trump. That same conversation also resulted in Trump agreeing to help facilitate the sale of Russian diesel onto global markets.
The summit proposal surfaced at a time of tension between Trump and Zelensky.
On Tuesday, Trump tore into the Ukrainian president for failing to strike a deal to end Russia’s invasion of his country. The president warned that Zelensky could have secured a far better agreement years ago.
Trump has made his frustrations with the Ukrainian leader clear in other recent comments as well. In a recent interview with Newsmax, the president said, “I find Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin.”
For his part, Zelensky signaled on Wednesday that he may be open to a deal that stops the fighting where it currently stands. In an interview with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, the Ukrainian president was asked whether he would be willing to give up control of Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russia if it meant bringing the war to an end.
“Would you accept a peace deal that freezes everything the way it is right now, where you still keep 75% or more of your country?” Kilmeade asked.
Zelensky answered without hesitation.
“Yes,” he said. “Right now, we have to freeze, and I think this is [the] real way to end this war.”
The comments mark a notable statement from the Ukrainian leader as the prospect of renewed negotiations comes into focus.
If the Nov. 10 talks go forward, they would be the first time Russia and Ukraine have returned to the negotiating table since February. That last round of talks took place in Geneva, Switzerland, and was mediated by the United States. Those discussions ended without a resolution.
With Putin now reportedly on board to restart negotiations, attention turns to whether the upcoming round can deliver the breakthrough that previous efforts failed to produce.
