Putin aide says settlement of Russia-Ukraine war nearing completion

Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said Wednesday that the ongoing Ukraine war is nearing a settlement, though he expressed it is still difficult to assess how close.

"I don't know how close we're getting, but things are heading in that direction," Ushakov said, responding to a question by the Vesti news outlet about how close the over-four-year war in Ukraine is to reaching a conclusion.

Ushakov's remarks come amid his commentary to reporters following a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in the city of St. Petersburg earlier in the day.

In his remarks, the Russian presidential aide stated that Putin conveyed to Witkoff Moscow's readiness "in principle" to resume trilateral Ukraine talks "around the 10th of November," particularly on the issue of building a post-war "security system" for Moscow and Kyiv.

Moscow and Kyiv last held US-mediated peace negotiations earlier this year, with three rounds of talks on Jan. 23-24, Feb. 4-5, and Feb. 17-18. The first two rounds were held in Abu Dhabi, while the third took place in Geneva.