KIEV — The United States is seeking to revive dialogue between Russia and Ukraine with a new round of trilateral talks that could take place before the end of October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Sunday.
The president explained that Washington is currently in
communication with both Kyiv and Moscow and has proposed organizing a
technical-level meeting in a trilateral format to try to make progress again in
finding a solution to the conflict.
Zelensky affirmed that Ukraine is willing to participate in
the talks and noted that Kyiv remains open to the location. Among the
possibilities, he mentioned the United Arab Emirates, a country that has
previously served as a venue for talks related to the conflict, although he
also left open the possibility of meeting at any other location proposed by
Washington.
The Ukrainian president indicated that the US government is
also proposing the initiative to Russia, although he acknowledged that he does
not know precisely when Moscow received or will receive the proposal.
The possibility of resuming talks arises at a particularly
delicate moment in the war. While Washington is attempting to revive the
diplomatic route, Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange attacks and maintain
opposing positions on the conditions necessary for a ceasefire.
One of the issues that could be part of the negotiations is
a potential cessation of attacks against energy infrastructure, a proposal the
United States has tried to promote as an initial step to de-escalate the
situation. The possibility of making progress on reopening the Black Sea trade
corridor has also been raised.