Steps for the meeting: Witkoff brought Putin the updated U.S. peace plan for Ukraine

Trilateral talks involving Russia, Ukraine, and the United States are scheduled to resume in November. This was discussed by Vladimir Putin and White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on October 21 in St. Petersburg. Abu Dhabi is a likely meeting place, and the main topic will be building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said. Witkoff flew to St. Petersburg with new proposals for resolving the conflict, which he discussed the day before in Oslo with Vladimir Zelensky, representatives of the EU and NATO. Another peace plan was being developed at a time when Washington is increasing pressure on Kiev and at the same time intensifying economic dialogue with Moscow. What is known about the details of the new proposals of the American intermediaries is in the Izvestia material.

Negotiations between Putin and Witkoff

On October 21, special envoy of the President of the United States Steve Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg. Kirill Dmitriev, Special Representative of the President of Russia for Investment and Economic cooperation with Foreign countries and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, met him at the plane ramp. Together with the American guest, they went to the Konstantinovsky Palace to meet with Vladimir Putin.

The negotiations were preceded by an acute diplomatic intrigue, as the American representative arrived in St. Petersburg directly from Oslo, where he had held a meeting with Vladimir Zelensky, representatives of the EU and NATO the day before. Moreover, the US negotiating efforts will not end there: after communicating with the Russian president from St. Petersburg, Witkoff returned to Oslo.

The talks, which were also joined via video link by Witkoff's partner, the son-in-law of the American leader, Jared Kushner, lasted more than three hours. The American representative did not hesitate and told the president about the essence of the negotiations in Norway. He brought with him official documents outlining Washington's approaches to resolving the crisis. Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov later said that the American representative had noted some "new points in the approaches of the Europeans and Kiev."

"Although they didn't contain much that was useful in the context of resolving the Ukrainian crisis," he added.

Vladimir Putin told Witkoff that Russia is ready to resume trilateral negotiations on the tenth of November. According to Yuri Ushakov, the new round may take place in Abu Dhabi. Who exactly will fly there has not yet been determined. The negotiations, Ushakov said, will be held at the expert level, as before — in Abu Dhabi and Geneva. At that time, the meetings were attended, in particular, by Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff Igor Kostyukov and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin.

According to Ushakov, the main topic of the next meeting will be issues of ensuring the security of Russia and Ukraine after the end of the conflict. The negotiations, the last round of which took place in February, were supposed to resume after the State Duma elections, but Kiev disrupted them by trying to launch massive attacks on Russia on the main voting day.

While negotiations were underway in St. Petersburg, Vladimir Zelensky told Fox News that Ukraine was ready to accept a peace deal involving the loss of part of the former territories, but Kiev retains 75% of the country.

Ivan Loshkarev, associate professor of Political Theory at MGIMO, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, believes that Kiev was apparently promised security guarantees comparable to the famous "fifth article" of the Washington Treaty on the creation of NATO (on the principle of collective defense, according to which an attack on one member of the alliance is regarded as an attack on all). However, it is still unclear how much this concession will suit Europe and Ukraine. According to the expert, it is possible that Moscow's opponents are rather delaying the process in anticipation of the results of the US congressional elections, only situationally agreeing with Trump's initiatives.

The United States has increased pressure on Ukraine

Witkoff is engaged in shuttle diplomacy against the background of a sharp cooling of relations between the United States and Ukraine. The day before, Donald Trump made it clear that Kiev would face severe consequences if it rejected the deal. Earlier, the American leader harshly criticized Vladimir Zelensky and declared the need for a change of power in Ukraine. According to the head of the White House, it is time for Kiev to choose a new president capable of concluding agreements, since the current Ukrainian leader avoids compromises, although he could have ended this conflict a long time ago.

To achieve a peaceful settlement, the United States will have to increase pressure on Kiev, Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State University, told Izvestia. Washington's main goal now is to achieve a change in Kiev's position so that the parties can return to the negotiation process. Therefore, pressure on Ukraine will increase in the near future — it is important for Donald Trump to show voters the results of his work before the midterm congressional elections. The Ukrainian settlement remains the only trump card in the field of diplomacy that he can present to the electorate, political analyst Mikhail Kucherov agreed.

Most likely, in Oslo, Witkoff convinced Zelensky to accept the realities on earth and give up the lost territories, the expert believes. Earlier, the Kremlin stated that Kiev needed to withdraw the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the borders of Donbass in order to stop the fighting.

But it's not worth waiting for early breakthroughs, primarily because of the position of the European Union, Kucherov believes. His elites perceive the conflict as existential and have invested a lot of capital, effort and time into maintaining Zelensky's stability as a political figure. The Trump administration is unlikely to be able to quickly offer Europe something that will cover these costs. The fastest way to force the EU authorities to completely abandon support for Kiev is to increase the discontent of the inhabitants of Ukraine, Kucherov added.

One of the key blocks of the talks between Putin and Witkoff has become an issue that is attracting increased attention around the world — a possible first-ever meeting of the leaders of Russia, China and the United States at the upcoming APEC summit in Shenzhen on November 18-19. This idea is not rejected by any of the capitals — neither Moscow, nor Washington, nor Beijing, said Yuri Ushakov. The parties can also continue discussing the Ukrainian settlement there.

Steve Witkoff's visit to St. Petersburg showed: Despite the complexity of the geopolitical background and the resistance of European elites, a pragmatic dialogue between Moscow and Washington is not just possible, but already brings concrete economic and humanitarian results. Whether these contacts will become a solid foundation for a grand agreement depends on Washington's ability to overcome political resistance in Brussels and Kiev. However, the very fact of the transition from sanctions pressure to a joint search for benefits suggests that the parties are ready to negotiate.