BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 21. A resolution to the conflict in Ukraine is now closer than ever before.
U.S. President Donald Trump said this during a roundtable discussion held at the White House.
"I recently spoke with Vladimir Putin about resolving the war with Ukraine. We are moving toward such a resolution. We are now closer to it than ever before," noted Donald Trump.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has held a series of contacts and negotiations with Moscow and Kyiv aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war since 2025. Separate meetings between U.S. representatives and Russian and Ukrainian delegations were held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, in March 2025. The discussions focused on safe navigation in the Black Sea, halting strikes on energy infrastructure, and resolving the conflict.
In August 2025, Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and subsequently held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House. The meetings focused on reaching a peace agreement, providing security guarantees, and arranging a direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy.
On October 21, 2026, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in St. Petersburg to discuss the resumption of negotiations and the settlement of the war. Following the meeting, it was reported that the Russian side had agreed to resume trilateral talks with Ukraine under U.S. mediation. Abu Dhabi is being considered as a possible venue for the meetings, starting on November 10.
