Putin Invites Trump to Meet in China as Witkoff Talks Reopen the Door to Ukraine Negotiations

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A Three-Hour Meeting at Constantine Palace

Witkoff met Putin at the Constantine Palace outside St. Petersburg. The talks lasted about three hours, according to the Kremlin. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov and Putin's economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev were also present. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner did not travel to Russia because he was ill, but he joined by video link, the Kremlin said.

Russian state TV reported that Putin proposed meeting Trump in China. He also offered to discuss restoring economic cooperation between Moscow and Washington. Putin said he was ready to consider the future of US-Russia trade ties. He added that Russia could use its relationship with Tehran to help bring peace in the conflict with Iran.

Talks on Ukraine Set to Resume

After the meeting, Ushakov told reporters that Putin had agreed "in principle" to resume three-way talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States after November 10, the Associated Press reported. The goal is to let technical teams work out the next steps toward a settlement.

Witkoff arrived with fresh momentum. A day earlier he had met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders in Oslo. Finland's President Alexander Stubb said that meeting had made "genuine progress." Witkoff himself spoke of "some degree of momentum."

There were also signs of goodwill. Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a retired American teacher who had been jailed on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine. Trump had personally asked Putin for his release. Witkoff also thanked Moscow for lifting its ban on diesel exports, which he said will help lower costs for US farmers and truckers.

Why China?

The idea of a summit in China is not new. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, a group of 21 economies, will hold its leaders' meeting in Shenzhen on November 18–19. Kremlin officials have said since late summer that a Putin–Trump meeting, or even a three-way meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, could take place on the sidelines.

Whether Trump will attend is still open. When the idea first surfaced, the White House said it had no announcement on his travel. Bloomberg reported in September that Putin plans to attend APEC in person, his first time since 2017. It also reported that he is unlikely to travel to the G20 summit that Trump will host near Miami in December.

The two leaders last met in person in Alaska on August 15, 2025.

Background: Beijing's Role

The venue matters. China is one of the biggest buyers of Russian oil and a supplier of dual-use goods (items with both civilian and military uses) that Russia's armed forces rely on, the Kyiv Independent has reported. Beijing and Moscow also jointly vetoed a US proposal last month at the United Nations to keep monitoring sanctions on Iran.

Critics argue that a summit in Shenzhen would give the Chinese Communist Party a stage as a "peace broker" while it keeps supporting the economy that funds Russia's war. Supporters of Trump's approach counter that direct talks with every major player are the fastest route to ending the fighting. Both views are worth weighing as the date approaches.

The War Continues

The diplomacy is happening against a backdrop of continuing violence. Overnight Russian attacks on October 21 killed three people in Kyiv and two near Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said. Ukraine, for its part, launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia on Sunday and set an oil export terminal in St. Petersburg ablaze.

Trump has increased pressure on Kyiv. "We want Zelensky to make a deal," he told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. Axios reported that Kushner again pressed Trump's demand that Ukraine stop striking Russian oil refineries.

Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on territory and security guarantees. Zelensky says a freeze of the conflict is the "minimum" Russia must accept.

Outlook

Several dates now matter. Trilateral talks could resume after November 10. APEC opens on November 18. Witkoff is expected back in Oslo for more consultations, and Axios reports he plans to travel to Moscow in late October. If Trump and Putin do meet in China, it would be their first face-to-face encounter in over a year. For now, Putin's invitation shows that Moscow wants to keep the Trump channel open, while real progress on the battlefield and at the negotiating table remains elusive.

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Sources

1. Associated Press, "Putin agrees to resume trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US next month" (Oct. 21, 2026): https://wsvn.com/news/us-world/witkoff-putin-st-petersburg-talks/
2. Reuters, "Putin, at talks with Witkoff, suggests he and Trump could meet in China" (Oct. 21, 2026): https://www.reuters.com/world/china/putin-talks-with-witkoff-suggests-he-trump-could-meet-china-2026-10-21/
3. Axios, "Witkoff to present Putin with peace proposal after talks with Zelensky" (Oct. 20, 2026): https://www.axios.com/2026/10/20/putin-witkoff-russia-ukraine-war
4. TASS, "Kushner joins Witkoff's meeting with Putin remotely, Kremlin tells TASS" (Oct. 21, 2026): https://tass.com/politics/2205407
5. South China Morning Post, "Xi, Trump and Putin may hold trilateral meeting at next Apec forum, Kremlin says": https://scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3366039/xi-trump-and-putin-may-hold-trilateral-meeting-next-apec-forum-kremlin-says
6. The Kyiv Independent, "Kremlin signals possible three-way meeting at APEC summit between Putin, Trump, Xi": https://kyivindependent.com/kremlin-signals-possible-three-way-meeting-at-apec-summit-between-putin-trump-xi/
7. Kyiv Post, on Bloomberg's report about Putin's APEC plans and the G20: https://www.kyivpost.com/post/85118

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