// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Russia says it is ready to resume talks with Ukraine and US to end war
The latest talks between Putin (right) and Witkoff lasted about three hours in St Petersburg
Russia is "ready in principle" to resume talks with the US and Ukraine on ending the conflict, Vladimir Putin's top aide has said.
Yuri Ushakov was speaking after Putin met US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff in the Russian city of St Petersburg.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies have been pressing Moscow for an immediate resumption of the talks suspended in February, and Ushakov said a new round could be held next month.
Russia has for months refused talks as it believes it is winning on the battlefield with Ukraine facing an acute shortage of interceptors against deadly Russian missile attacks.
Witkoff went to St Petersburg after meeting Zelensky as well as the leaders of Norway and Finland in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, on Monday.
It is not clear what specific proposals Witkoff brought to Putin, but Zelensky said after talks in Oslo that "strong" security guarantees for Ukraine and energy ceasefire proposals had been discussed.
Top officials from Russia, Ukraine and the US have held several rounds of talks aimed at ending the war that began in February 2022 when Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russia blamed last month's "massive" Ukrainian strikes during its general elections for their disruption.
Speaking to reporters after Wednesday's talks in St Petersburg, Ushakov suggested that a new round could be held around 10 November in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.