Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Wednesday to resume tripartite negotiations next month with Washington and kyiv aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, a Kremlin official said. The Russian leader agreed “in principle” to resume talks after Nov. 10, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters after a meeting in St. Petersburg between Putin and US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff. The talks will focus on “building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends,” Ushakov said. stop the fighting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has insisted that only a leaders’ summit can break the deadlock. The two armies remain trapped on the battlefield and the two countries hit each other with daily long-range attacks. Representatives from the three countries held three rounds of negotiations earlier this year, meeting twice in Abu Dhabi in January and February, followed by further talks in Geneva in February. However, little progress was reported beyond the exchange of prisoners of war, as Moscow and kyiv stuck to their basic demands. Latest proposals to end war have little value, says Kremlin. The discussion in St. Petersburg lasted about three hours, the Kremlin said, and came a day after Witkoff met with Zelenskyy and some European leaders in Norway’s capital, Oslo. The Oslo meeting’s proposals “contained little real value in the context of resolving the Ukrainian crisis,” Ushakov said. However, he later told Russian state television that while Moscow is not “totally satisfied” with Oslo’s proposals, they are a step in the right direction. The Witkoff meetings suggested that leaders are eager to give new impetus to U.S.-led peace efforts, more than four and a half years after the war began. The Trump administration’s efforts since early last year to end the war have failed to make significant progress. Zelenskyy said freezing the conflict in Ukraine was the “minimum” required by Russia to end the war. “Right now, we have to freeze, and I think this is (the) real way to end this war,” Zelenskyy said in an interview broadcast Wednesday on Fox News. Story continues below ad 1:59 Trump defends decision to waive sanctions on Russia amid new attacks on Ukraine Witkoff sees ‘some degree of momentum’ in peace efforts Get the latest national news Get the latest Canadian news in your inbox as it happens so you don’t miss any breaking news. Witkoff and Putin met at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, with Ushakov and Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev also at the table. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, joined the discussion via video link, Ushakov said. Before the meeting, Witkoff said “there is some degree of momentum” in the talks. He thanked Putin for agreeing to send diesel to the US, after Trump lifted a ban despite anger from some US lawmakers, adding that the fuel would help lower prices for American farmers and truckers. Putin said he was ready to consider the prospects for restoring economic ties between the US and Russia, adding that he was also prepared to discuss the US-led conflict with Iran. Moscow is willing to use its relationship with Tehran to help achieve peace, he said. Ushakov said that “large-scale joint economic projects that offer significant prospects for cooperation” between Russia and the United States were discussed in detail with Witkoff. “Some of them are, in fact, approaching the implementation stage,” he said. In other developments, Russia on Wednesday freed a retired American teacher who had been jailed on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine. Witkoff said it appeared to be a goodwill gesture by the Kremlin after Trump asked Putin to release Stephen Hubbard. Putin also met on Wednesday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who was in St. Petersburg for talks with other Russian officials, the Kremlin said. Russia has cultivated ties with China, and the two countries last month vetoed a U.S. proposal for U.N. experts to continue monitoring sanctions on Iran. Putin and Witkoff also discussed a possible meeting next month between Russian, Chinese and American leaders at an economic summit in China, Ushakov said, adding that Beijing is already preparing for it. 7:44 Former US ambassador to Ukraine examines dispute between Washington and kyiv and the implications of easing Russian oil sanctions More on the world More videos Norway’s prime minister sees possible ‘new phase’ in talks Witkoff planned to return to Oslo for further consultations after his trip to Russia, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said. “I think we may now have entered a phase where the Russians are also looking for opportunities for diplomacy,” Støre told Norwegian broadcaster NRK on Wednesday. Zelenskyy was still in Oslo early Wednesday, where he visited Norway’s parliament and met with lawmakers. Zelenskyy said the talks in Oslo and St. Petersburg included discussions on future security guarantees for Ukraine, the fate of the occupied territories, post-war reconstruction and the possibility of a ceasefire. Trump pressures Zelenskyy to reach a deal. At the White House on Tuesday, Trump increased pressure on Zelenskyy to reach a deal with Russia as relations between the two leaders have deteriorated again. “We want Zelenskyy to make a deal,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We have given a lot to Ukraine. We have received absolutely nothing in return except pain, death and tremendous monetary loss.” 0:26 Trump suspends new sanctions on Russian economy Russian attacks kill five people and wound at least 23 others, Ukraine says Russian attacks overnight in kyiv left three dead and 12 wounded, while 10 residential buildings were damaged, the city’s military administration said. Energy facilities were attacked by Russia in kyiv and three other cities on Wednesday morning, Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said. On the outskirts of the eastern city of Kharkiv, two people were killed and 11 others were injured when drones exploded in a residential area, it said. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces attacked a warehouse, an electrical substation and a bulk carrier at sea heading to the Ukrainian port of Odessa overnight. The Russian Defense Ministry reported Wednesday that its air defenses intercepted 373 Ukrainian drones overnight over multiple Russian regions, as well as the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula and the Black Sea.