US President Donald Trump said that Russia and Ukraine are closer to a possible peace agreement than ever before. In his assessment, the latest diplomatic contacts with Vladimir Putin give reason to hope for progress in resolving the war. However, the American leader did not name specific deadlines for concluding an agreement.
Trump said this on October 21 while speaking to journalists at the White House. A video of the speech was published on YouTube.
The American president said he recently discussed with the Russian leader the possibilities of ending the war against Ukraine. According to Trump, the parties are now closer to a settlement than at previous stages of the negotiation process.
“I recently spoke with Vladimir Putin about settling his war with Ukraine. I think we are getting closer to this — perhaps we are closest now,” — Trump stated.
The US president did not specify what agreements allow him to speak of such progress or whether Washington managed to get Moscow’s consent to specific conditions for stopping hostilities.
Trump’s statement came on the day American citizen Stephen Hubbard was released from Russian detention. The 74-year-old American had been in custody for more than four years after being detained by Russian military forces in Ukraine in 2022.
As Associated Press reports, Hubbard was convicted by a Russian court on charges of participating in hostilities on the side of Ukraine. American authorities considered his detention unlawful.
Trump said he personally asked Putin to release Hubbard during a phone call last week. According to the US president, Moscow agreed to release the American without a prisoner exchange.
The release coincided with the visit of the American president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff to St. Petersburg, where talks with Putin took place on October 21.
The meeting lasted about three hours. The main topic was the possible resumption of trilateral negotiations between the US, Ukraine, and Russia, as well as discussion of proposals to end the war.
On the eve, October 20, Witkoff met in Oslo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders. Jared Kushner also participated in the consultations remotely.
As the Office of the President of Ukraine reported, the meetings discussed security guarantees, sanctions against Russia, post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, and a possible transition to talks at the level of heads of state.
Following the consultations in St. Petersburg, Witkoff said that the American side will continue working on a peace settlement.
In his statement on social network X, the special envoy called the talks constructive and confirmed that further discussion would take place in a trilateral format at the technical level.
At the same time, Witkoff acknowledged that the parties still have to do a significant amount of work to prepare a comprehensive agreement that would ensure long-term security.
The Russian side also announced its fundamental readiness to return to trilateral negotiations. Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov said that Moscow is considering the possibility of holding a new round after November 10.
As Associated Press notes, the talks could be the first in this format since February 2026. Previous meetings of representatives from the three countries took place in Abu Dhabi and Geneva, but did not lead to significant progress beyond agreements on prisoner-of-war exchanges.
Ushakov said that at the next stage, the main focus is expected to be on forming a security system after the war ends.
However, Putin’s aide also indicated that Moscow is not fully satisfied with the proposals the American delegation brought after consultations with Ukraine and European partners. He described the ideas presented as a step in the right direction, but did not announce the coordination of specific terms of a peace agreement.
Ukraine, in turn, supported the US proposal to hold a trilateral meeting as soon as possible. Zelensky said this on the evening of October 21, answering journalists' questions.
As RBC-Ukraine reports, the Ukrainian president said he received information about the Russian side’s agreement to talks between representatives of the three states.
According to Zelensky, Washington proposes not to delay organizing a new round. Kyiv supports this initiative and hopes the consultations can be held as early as the beginning of November.
“The American side suggests doing this as soon as possible. We support this,” — Zelensky emphasized.
However, the Ukrainian president acknowledged that the final date of the meeting has not yet been agreed upon and depends not only on the Ukrainian side.
Zelensky also outlined the issues Kyiv is ready to discuss at the negotiations, including a ceasefire, stopping mutual strikes on energy infrastructure, humanitarian initiatives, prisoner releases, and diplomatic mechanisms for ending the war.
The Ukrainian president called preparing a possible meeting of the leaders of Ukraine, the US, and Russia a separate goal of the negotiation process. In his opinion, some fundamental issues of a future agreement can only be resolved at the highest political level.
Zelensky also urged caution in assessing Moscow’s statements about readiness for negotiations. He reminded that Russia has repeatedly expressed agreement to diplomatic initiatives and then changed its position or withdrew from previously discussed meetings.
Despite Trump’s optimistic assessment, the main disagreements between Ukraine and Russia remain. The parties have not yet announced compromises regarding territories, ceasefire conditions, security guarantees, and mechanisms for implementing a possible peace agreement.
Moreover, agreeing to continue technical consultations does not automatically mean an agreement on a personal meeting between Trump, Zelensky, and Putin.
As of the evening of October 21, a specific date for the next round of negotiations has not been officially approved. Neither a cessation of hostilities nor the signing of any documents regulating the terms of the war’s end has been announced.
Thus, Trump’s statement reflects his assessment of the prospects for a diplomatic settlement against the backdrop of renewed contacts between Washington, Kyiv, and Moscow. For now, the confirmed result of the recent talks remains the parties’ readiness to continue discussing peace proposals at the technical level.
