Three-way negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States aimed at ending the war in Ukraine could take place as early as October, the Kremlin said on Sunday, according to Russian state media.
“We do not rule out such a possibility; we are talking about the foreseeable future,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, according to RIA and TASS news agencies.
The comments come as Washington seeks to revive stalled diplomatic efforts to end the more than four-year conflict, with US negotiators travelling to Kiev and Moscow and President Donald Trump holding phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
‘No negotiating framework yet’
Previous rounds of negotiations have failed to produce a breakthrough, while US-led efforts have slowed amid Washington’s focus on the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran in the Middle East.
Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said Sunday that there was still no “coordinated package” on which negotiations could be based.
“At present, there is the idea that we need to reach an agreement on the territorial issue. But there are also many other questions,” Ushakov said.
Territorial control remains one of the most difficult issues in the negotiations, with Moscow continuing to demand that Ukraine cede territory in the east, including areas Russian forces have not fully captured.
Zelenskyy offers December meeting with Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that he would be willing to meet Putin at the G20 summit in Miami in December to discuss ending the war.
Peskov rejected the proposal, calling such a meeting “impossible” and reiterating Moscow’s position that any direct meeting between the two leaders should take place in the Russian capital.
Putin has repeatedly rejected calls for a face-to-face meeting with Zelenskyy as part of efforts to end the conflict.
Meanwhile, Moscow and Kiev have intensified long-range strikes against each other in recent months, contributing to the highest civilian death toll since the early stages of the war.
The conflict has killed thousands of people and severely damaged both countries’ economies, while diplomatic efforts have so far failed to bridge major differences over territory and the terms of a potential peace agreement.
