Zelenskyy Backs Urgent Trilateral Talks as Kremlin Eyes Nov. 10
(MENAFN) Ukraine is backing a US proposal to convene three-way talks with Russia “as soon as possible,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday, just as the Kremlin indicated it is ready to return to the negotiating table.
Speaking to reporters, in comments carried by Ukrainian media outlets and a state news agency, Zelenskyy said Kyiv had been briefed by Washington on the outcome of that day’s meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg.
“We have received feedback that Russia supports a trilateral meeting at the level of our teams. The American side proposes holding it as soon as possible. We support this,” he said.
Zelenskyy said firm dates have not been set. The negotiating teams will stay in contact to shape the agenda, he added.
“The agenda is clear: to end the war, bring peace closer, and prepare everything for a meeting at the level of the leaders – this is very important for everyone,” he said. Washington, he noted, has pledged to arrange the session quickly.
He was also quoted as saying the meeting would be held by early November at the latest. Ukraine’s delegation, he said, would back ceasefire proposals and a range of humanitarian measures, including prisoner exchanges. He voiced hope that Moscow would follow through on its commitments to attend.
The Putin-Witkoff session, their ninth face-to-face encounter, lasted roughly three hours at St. Petersburg’s Constantine Palace, according to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov. Afterward, he told reporters that Putin had signaled Moscow’s readiness “in principle” to restart trilateral peace talks on Ukraine in November.
“Our president informed Steve Witkoff that we are, in principle, prepared to resume the aforementioned trilateral negotiations around the 10th of November,” Ushakov told reporters following the talks at St. Petersburg’s Constantine Palace, which he said lasted about three hours.
Ushakov said Russia’s willingness to negotiate centers in particular on constructing a post-war “security system” for Moscow and Kyiv.
Separately, Witkoff posted on the US social media platform X that he and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Trump, held “constructive” discussions in St. Petersburg and in Oslo over the past two days. Those contacts will carry on through trilateral talks “at the technical level.”
The last US-brokered negotiations between Russia and Ukraine came earlier this year, in three rounds: Jan. 23-24, Feb. 4-5 and Feb. 17-18. Abu Dhabi hosted the first two, and Geneva the third.
Speaking to reporters, in comments carried by Ukrainian media outlets and a state news agency, Zelenskyy said Kyiv had been briefed by Washington on the outcome of that day’s meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg.
“We have received feedback that Russia supports a trilateral meeting at the level of our teams. The American side proposes holding it as soon as possible. We support this,” he said.
Zelenskyy said firm dates have not been set. The negotiating teams will stay in contact to shape the agenda, he added.
“The agenda is clear: to end the war, bring peace closer, and prepare everything for a meeting at the level of the leaders – this is very important for everyone,” he said. Washington, he noted, has pledged to arrange the session quickly.
He was also quoted as saying the meeting would be held by early November at the latest. Ukraine’s delegation, he said, would back ceasefire proposals and a range of humanitarian measures, including prisoner exchanges. He voiced hope that Moscow would follow through on its commitments to attend.
The Putin-Witkoff session, their ninth face-to-face encounter, lasted roughly three hours at St. Petersburg’s Constantine Palace, according to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov. Afterward, he told reporters that Putin had signaled Moscow’s readiness “in principle” to restart trilateral peace talks on Ukraine in November.
“Our president informed Steve Witkoff that we are, in principle, prepared to resume the aforementioned trilateral negotiations around the 10th of November,” Ushakov told reporters following the talks at St. Petersburg’s Constantine Palace, which he said lasted about three hours.
Ushakov said Russia’s willingness to negotiate centers in particular on constructing a post-war “security system” for Moscow and Kyiv.
Separately, Witkoff posted on the US social media platform X that he and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Trump, held “constructive” discussions in St. Petersburg and in Oslo over the past two days. Those contacts will carry on through trilateral talks “at the technical level.”
The last US-brokered negotiations between Russia and Ukraine came earlier this year, in three rounds: Jan. 23-24, Feb. 4-5 and Feb. 17-18. Abu Dhabi hosted the first two, and Geneva the third.
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