Ukraine expects trilateral meeting with US and Russia in UAE by November 10 – Zelenskyy
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expects a trilateral meeting between representatives of Russia, the United States and Ukraine on ending the war to take place between November 6 and 10, 2026.
The president said this at a press conference in The Hague with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, Censor.NET reports.
Timing and possible topics
"We are waiting for the American side. We hope they will be ready with all the answers after their elections. And it is clear that we will have a date after November 4. The agenda is clear. They must prepare a trilateral meeting of leaders," Zelenskyy said.
The president also outlined the issues to be raised during these talks: a ceasefire in the energy sector and at sea; exchanges of captives and prisoners of war; Ukrainian civilians imprisoned in Russia; and the return of children.
"Many humanitarian issues. Not just territories, which are the most important issue for the Russian and American sides. That is true. We are also ready to discuss territories, but at the level of leaders," Zelenskyy said.
Europe must be involved
The head of state also said that Ukraine is working to involve representatives of the European Union and European countries in the talks with the United States and Russia.
"The United States supports this. Russia, as I have already told you, has never been particularly supportive of Europe’s presence. They do not want that; they want only the United States, and even then, they do not want it to be in the middle between us. But we hope that, one way or another, we will find a way to involve Europe. Ultimately, we are talking about security guarantees for Ukraine, and personally, I cannot see this happening without Europe," Zelenskyy said.
Background
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On October 20, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Norway and said that Witkoff would convey the proposals developed on security guarantees, already set out in a corresponding document, during talks with the Russians in St. Petersburg.
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On October 21, Trump’s special envoy met with Vladimir Putin at the Konstantinovsky Palace near St. Petersburg. During the talks, Witkoff said that the conditions for a ceasefire were in place.
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Russian dictator’s aide Yuri Ushakov later said that Moscow was ready to resume trilateral talks with the United States and Ukraine as early as mid-November.
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Zelenskyy subsequently confirmed that the American side 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.
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On October 22, Russian dictator Putin said that Moscow was ready to resume trilateral talks with Ukraine and the United States. According to him, the aim of the talks should be to achieve a final peace settlement and establish a security system for Russia and Ukraine.
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Speaker Johnson recently said that the United States was already on the verge of trilateral talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
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Zelenskyy noted that the upcoming November meeting between representatives of Ukraine, the United States and Russia would be a step toward talks at the level of leaders. Possible topics for the November talks include halting attacks on energy infrastructure and at sea, restoring full-scale grain exports and further prisoner exchanges.
