Special Envoy of the US President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, confirmed that Ukraine, Russia, and the United States will continue negotiations on ending the war in a trilateral format at the technical level. He made the corresponding statement after meetings with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo and Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
Witkoff wrote about this on October 21 on the social network X.
According to the American representative, he, together with Jared Kushner, held consultations with the leadership of Ukraine, Russia, and representatives of European states as part of the diplomatic efforts of the Trump administration.
Witkoff noted that during the meeting with Putin, the American delegation discussed proposals for a peaceful settlement prepared after the talks with Zelenskyy and European partners in Norway.
“These discussions were constructive and will continue in the format of trilateral talks between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine at the technical level,” — said the special envoy.
He emphasized that the parties have a significant amount of work ahead to achieve a peace agreement. At the same time, according to Witkoff, Trump remains committed to ending the war and reaching a long-term agreement that would ensure security in the region.
The American representative also said that one of the topics of negotiations in St. Petersburg was the release of US citizen Stephen Hubbard, who was in Russian custody. Witkoff thanked Putin for deciding to release the American.
As Axios reports, the proposal to resume trilateral negotiations at the technical level was supported by both sides. According to the American official, Ukraine agreed to this format during consultations in Oslo on October 20, and Russia — the next day in St. Petersburg.
It is expected that representatives of the three states will be able to discuss in detail specific provisions of the future agreement. During the talks with Putin, Witkoff handed over to the Russian side documents with American proposals for ending the war.
Earlier, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that Moscow was in principle ready to resume negotiations in the second ten days of November. Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates is being considered as a possible venue.
The main topic, according to Ushakov, should be the formation of a security system for Ukraine and Russia after the war ends. At the same time, the Russian side stated that the proposals presented in Oslo did not fully satisfy it yet.
As previously reported by Kurs.com.ua, Putin expressed readiness to return to trilateral negotiations, but no specific agreements on a ceasefire were announced.
Witkoff's new statement confirmed on the part of the American negotiator the intention to continue the diplomatic process after consultations with Kyiv and Moscow.
However, the exact date of the next round of negotiations and the composition of the delegations have not yet been officially announced. The parties also did not report reaching a compromise on territorial issues, ceasefire conditions, and security guarantees for Ukraine.
