Putin is no humanitarian, but is he ready to negotiate?

Vladimir Putin is hardly a "humanitarian," despite the cringe-worthy homage that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff paid to him in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. But is the Russian president ready to begin serious peace negotiations to halt the brutal war in Ukraine?
That's what a top Kremlin aide claimed after the meeting, but we won't know if it's true until Russia, Ukraine and the United States begin negotiations that officials close to the talks said are tentatively set to start in November. This fledgling peace effort is at least moving in the right direction, though. For a change, the United States, Europe, Ukraine and Russia have found a framework for discussing an end to the war.