US, Ukraine and Russia could hold new peace talks in November, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (photo: Getty Images)
The US is proposing to hold a new trilateral meeting between American, Ukrainian, and Russian negotiators as soon as possible to discuss ending the war. Possible talks between the countries' leaders are also being discussed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in response to journalists' questions.
Zelenskyy on peace talks
According to the president, the meeting between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russian side on October 21 was important.
"We 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," Zelenskyy said.
The president has not yet announced the final dates for the meeting.
"We spoke with our American partners. They will make sure it happens as early as possible in November. I think no later than early November. Well, we'll see, not everything depends on us," he noted.
Therefore, according to the president, the teams of the three countries will communicate on these issues.
"The agenda is clear: to end the war, bring peace closer, and prepare everything for a meeting at the leaders' level. And this is very important for everyone. For us, at least, for Ukraine, it is very important. We always emphasize this," he said.
Ukraine's position
Zelenskyy outlined the areas of negotiations that Ukraine will support.
"We will support proposals for a ceasefire, for ending the war, for an energy ceasefire, any ceasefire in any case, as well as humanitarian initiatives, the return of prisoners, and diplomacy," the president clarified.
Positive signal
In his opinion, the main initiative emerging from all these negotiations and the main signal so far are positive.
"On our side, there is full support for the American proposals. We hope that Russia, which has already said many times that it is ready for a meeting in one format or another... Then something changed; things were canceled. We'll see how it goes this time," he said.
Zelenskyy believes the main idea is to meet as soon as possible, start working, and develop "the peace we need."
