Proposal to end the war arrives

According to the framework outlined by The Economist, citing Ukrainian officials, Russia would receive business deals with the United States, sanctions relief, and the normalization of political relations. Ukraine would be offered investment and EU membership in exchange for abandoning its bid to join NATO. The publication notes that Ukrainian officials are not familiar with all the details of the latest proposals but are well acquainted with their key provisions.

According to The Economist, a new incentive for Moscow was a proposal to resume Russian gas sales to Europe and restore the Nord Stream pipeline. The magazine notes that the United States has no authority to regulate the operation of a pipeline located in Europe.

Ukrainian negotiators fear that U.S. representatives will seek lucrative economic deals even before the conflict is resolved. One Ukrainian official explained the logic behind this approach to the magazine: “Why wait and waste time? Time is money.”

Russian authorities have expressed their willingness to negotiate. During recent contacts between Russia and the United States, an agreement was reached to hold trilateral talks involving Ukraine.

“The aim of these talks will be to discuss ensuring the security of Ukraine and Russia after peace agreements have been reached,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Putin–Witkoff Meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with the Russian leader on October 21 at the Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg. During the public meeting, Witkoff announced that he had brought documents outlining possible solutions and asked Putin to review them. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the head of state would study the U.S. proposals.

Witkoff also stated at the meeting that the groundwork for a ceasefire had been laid and expressed hope that trilateral talks between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine would continue to address technical issues. Putin thanked Trump for his attention to the peace process and noted that the U.S. president had emphasized the need to end the conflict during their most recent conversation.

Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg following talks in Oslo on October 20. Those discussions were attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, joined the discussions remotely due to illness. According to Stubb, the parties identified key elements of future security and economic agreements, which the American negotiator was expected to present to Moscow. The discussions also covered air defense, energy facilities, and a partial ceasefire.

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Following the meeting in St. Petersburg, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that the new approaches presented had not been particularly helpful in resolving the conflict. He said that Witkoff had briefed Putin on the talks in Oslo and noted new elements in the positions of the Europeans and Kyiv. Ushakov described the meeting itself as thorough and frank, stating that “things are moving toward ending” the conflict.

Moscow insists on a long-term solution. Putin has previously stressed that any agreements must take Russia’s security interests into account and must not be limited solely to territorial issues.

“We need to create the conditions not for a ceasefire, but for lasting peace with a long-term historical perspective,” he said.

The conditions for a ceasefire and the start of negotiations that Putin outlined previously included the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), and the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions; recognition of these regions and Crimea as part of Russia; and the lifting of all anti-Russian sanctions.