Kremlin Says Ukraine Deal Is 'Theoretically Possible' but Demands 'Necessary Decisions' From Kyiv

Since Steve Witkoff sat down with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg earlier today, Oct. 21, the Kremlin has spent the afternoon lowering expectations about what the meeting produced. The headline from the day was Putin's willingness in principle to resume trilateral talks. The detail from Moscow's side is less encouraging.

What the Kremlin is saying

Russian officials told state media that a negotiated resolution is "theoretically possible." They attached a condition: Ukraine's leaders must make "necessary decisions." If they do not, the officials said, the situation for Ukraine "will be worse," according to TASS.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow will study the proposals Witkoff brought, but that the talks will take a long time. He also said "nothing has changed." His words: "We need peace, not a ceasefire."

Putin's foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov was blunter about the paper itself. According to a Kremlin transcript, he said the proposals Witkoff carried, which he attributed to Ukraine and the European Union, "contained little that was useful" for resolving the war.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin would listen to what Witkoff offers while ruling out "any political concessions."

Neither Peskov nor Ushakov has said what the "necessary decisions" are. Peskov did say that someone in Kyiv must "make a responsible decision," and that the war cannot be fully resolved without someone from Kyiv present.

Kyiv's position

Zelenskyy told Fox News that three-way talks among himself, President Trump and Putin are the best route to ending the war. He said he would not accept any settlement crafted by China, Russia and the U.S. without Ukraine. "Don't talk about us without us," he said.

He added that any negotiated end would have to be approved by Ukraine's Parliament. That is a hard procedural gate, and it means a deal cannot simply be handed to him.

Russian officials told Witkoff that a Trump-Putin-Xi Jinping meeting is "possible." The White House has floated the idea. Ukrainian officials have balked at it because it would sideline them. In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Zelenskyy said Putin is already gradually emerging from international isolation and that Ukraine should be consulted if it is being discussed.

Washington's pressure

Trump has leaned on Kyiv. On Oct. 19 he said it was "time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine" and that Zelenskyy "should have had this war settled a long time ago." At the White House he said he wants Kyiv to "make a deal," and that if it does not, it is "time for Ukraine to end this war."

The administration's defenders point to results: Hubbard, a U.S. citizen jailed in Russia for more than four years, is free. Trump said Putin agreed to release him with "no 'swap' necessary." Trump also said that would not have happened had the U.S. not prevented new sanctions on Moscow from taking effect last week. Witkoff's remark to Putin that he was a "humanitarian" for the release drew backlash in the U.S.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Witkoff's Tuesday talks with Zelenskyy in Oslo "positive" and said Witkoff would carry ideas from those talks to the Russian side to "make some progress."

There is also a pocketbook thread. Trump said Russia will ship diesel as Washington seeks to cut fuel prices, with midterms weeks away. Russian officials said the first tanker bound for the U.S. leaves Thursday, part of an initial shipment of about 300,000 tonnes. The U.S. is therefore negotiating a war settlement with a country that is also becoming a fuel supplier to American buyers.

Intelligence sharing and the next round

Zelenskyy said U.S. intelligence sharing on Russian strikes "works now" after Oslo, a reversal from earlier this week, when he said Ukraine was no longer receiving advance alerts on incoming missiles. "We are thankful that intelligence works," he said, calling early warnings on ballistic missiles "very, very important" for civilians.

A U.S. official told CBS News that Russia and Ukraine agreed to resume trilateral talks with the U.S. at the technical level. Ushakov said the talks would cover "building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends." He said Putin agreed in principle to resume after Nov. 10. The Kremlin said the next round could be held in Abu Dhabi.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said the Oslo meeting made "genuine progress," while warning that patience would be needed. Peskov said Moscow will judge whether Stubb's role is constructive, and that repeating the "common European position" would not be.

What comes next

Witkoff plans to return to Oslo for more consultations with European officials. The first diesel tanker is due to sail Thursday, Oct. 22. No trilateral session is expected before Nov. 10, and the central dispute remains: Moscow says Kyiv must make decisions it has not specified, while Zelenskyy says nothing is settled without Ukraine at the table and Parliament's approval.