Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Ukraine supports a US push to hold trilateral talks with Russia as soon as possible. The Kremlin signaled its readiness to resume negotiations following diplomatic contacts.
In remarks cited by Ukrainian media outlets, including the state news agency Ukrinform, Zelenskyy told journalists that Kyiv received feedback from Washington. This communication followed talks earlier in the day 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," Zelenskyy said. "The American side proposes holding it as soon as possible. We support this."
Final dates for the meeting are not yet clear. Their teams will be in communication to develop the agenda of the proposed discussions.
"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. He added that the US side promised to arrange a meeting as soon as possible.
Zelenskyy stated that the meeting would take place no later than early November. Ukraine’s negotiation team will support proposals for a ceasefire and various humanitarian initiatives, such as prisoner swaps.
He expressed hope that Russia would honor its commitments regarding the trilateral meeting. Putin hosted the US envoy on Wednesday in his ninth in-person meeting with him.
Following the discussions, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov told reporters that Putin conveyed Moscow’s readiness in principle to resume trilateral peace negotiations 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 after the talks at St. Petersburg’s Constantine Palace. He mentioned the meeting lasted about three hours.
Ushakov said Moscow’s readiness for trilateral negotiations concerned the issue of building a post-war security system for Moscow and Kyiv.
Separately, Witkoff announced on the US social media platform X that he and Jared Kushner held constructive discussions in St. Petersburg and Oslo over the past two days. He stated these discussions will continue with trilateral talks at the technical level.
