A trilateral meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the United States could take place in the UAE, Switzerland, Turkey and other countries. Invitations have come from a range of states.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this during an audio briefing with journalists. Topics for discussion include energy, grain and humanitarian issues, with prisoner exchanges foremost among them.
“It is not enough just to talk — we need a concrete result,” the president said.
If all sides agree, the meeting will be held in the autumn, possibly even this month.
Context
Trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States and Russia stalled after the start of the US-Israeli operation against Iran in February this year. So far, Ukraine and Russia have held only bilateral meetings with US representatives.
On 6 September, negotiator Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to Kyiv for the first time. They made the visit after travelling to Moscow. The United States and Ukraine hope to resume meetings in a trilateral format, but no specific dates have yet been announced.
During last year’s and this year’s negotiations, the sides worked on a plan to end the war. No consensus was reached on the issue of territory. Russia is demanding that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the whole of Donbas. The United States is proposing the creation of a free economic zone there, but it is unclear who would administer it and what guarantees there are that Russia would not seize the remaining territory. Kyiv is категорично against any territorial concessions and the withdrawal of its army.