MOSCOW — Russia has indicated a willingness to restart negotiations with the United States and Ukraine aimed at bringing the ongoing conflict to a close. The announcement followed a multi-hour meeting in St Petersburg between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
A senior Kremlin aide told reporters that Moscow is prepared in principle to re-engage in diplomatic discussions. The official suggested that the next diplomatic session could take place next month in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi.
Negotiations between the warring parties have been suspended since February. The Kremlin previously halted the diplomatic track following extensive drone and missile strikes launched by Ukraine inside Russian territory during national elections.
Prior to his arrival in Russia, Witkoff traveled to Norway to confer with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, alongside the prime ministers of Norway and Finland. According to the Russian aide, the proposals brought forward from those discussions were not considered particularly constructive. However, an American official confirmed that Washington had advanced a proposal for trilateral technical-level discussions involving the US, Russia, and Ukraine, which gained acceptance from both Kyiv and Moscow during the respective diplomatic stops.
During the St Petersburg discussions, the Russian leadership maintained that its armed forces currently hold the strategic advantage along the entire front line. Conversely, Kyiv and its European partners dispute this assessment, characterizing the military situation as largely deadlocked as the war approaches its fourth year.
The diplomatic outreach unfolds against a backdrop of rising political tensions between Washington and Kyiv. Recent statements from the White House have questioned the leadership in Ukraine and suggested that alternative negotiators should step forward. American officials have also linked regional energy market pressures to Ukrainian military operations targeting Russian energy infrastructure, ahead of upcoming legislative elections in the United States.
European capitals have expressed growing unease regarding shifting diplomatic postures from Washington regarding the conflict. Despite these geopolitical frictions, preparations are moving forward for potential trilateral engagements next month as international actors continue searching for a diplomatic pathway to peace.
Reporting based on coverage first published by BBC News. Read the original report at BBC News.
