Trilateral talks planned for first half of November, but everything depends on Russians – Zelenskyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a trilateral meeting between Ukrainian, US, and Russian teams was planned for the first half of November, but whether it takes place depends on Russia.

He said this during an online meeting at the Hudson Institute, Censor.NET reports, citing Suspilne.

Meeting between the teams

According to Zelenskyy, before his address, he spoke by phone with US special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. They discussed the results of their meetings and how to "move diplomacy forward".

"We have an agreement to hold a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the US and Russia at the team level in November, and we hope it will take place. The plan is to meet in the first half of November, as early as possible, but we are ready to meet on any day, even tomorrow. However, everything depends on the Russians," Zelenskyy said.

Why the October meeting did not take place

According to the president, Ukraine had also expected a trilateral meeting in October, "but it did not take place because the Russians invented yet another reason to refuse".

"Now we must all focus on making these meetings happen. Together, of course—with America, Europe and our other partners. These meetings are necessary, and we need diplomacy to move forward," he said.

Zelenskyy believes that such meetings cannot take place without the US or without American pressure on Russia.

"That is why we are counting so much on you, on America, which must maintain this priority at all levels. We need trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, America and Russia, and Europe must also be part of this conversation. In addition, we should move from technical-level talks to a meeting of leaders, because the key issues can only be resolved at the highest level," the president added.

Background

On 20 October, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Norway and said that Witkoff would present proposals developed on security guarantees, already set out in a corresponding document, during talks with the Russians in St Petersburg.
On 21 October, Trump’s special envoy met Vladimir Putin at the Konstantinovsky Palace near St Petersburg. During the talks, Witkoff said that the conditions for a ceasefire were in place.
Russian dictator’s aide Yuri Ushakov subsequently said that Moscow was ready to resume trilateral negotiations with the US and Ukraine as early as mid-November.
Zelenskyy later confirmed that the US had informed Kyiv of Russia’s readiness for a meeting between negotiating teams. According to him, Ukraine supports the proposal to hold talks as soon as possible.
On 22 October, Russian dictator Putin said that Moscow was ready to resume trilateral negotiations with Ukraine and the US. According to him, the talks should aim to achieve a lasting peace and establish a security system for Russia and Ukraine.