Ukraine Has Agreed to a Technical Meeting with Russia and the U.S. — Zelenskyy
Ukraine has agreed to participate in a trilateral technical meeting with the United States and Russia. According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the U.S. side has proposed holding the meeting by the end of October in the United Arab Emirates or another country. Now it is up to the Russians to respond.
Ukraine is ready to participate in a trilateral meeting with the United States and Russia at the technical level. This refers to potential talks that the U.S. side is proposing to hold by the end of October. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made this statement during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Kyiv.
According to Zelenskyy, the U.S. is currently in contact with both Ukraine and Russia. The U.S. side has proposed holding a trilateral meeting. “The U.S. side is currently in contact with Ukraine and Russia and is proposing to hold some kind of meeting at the technical level in a trilateral format by the end of October. Yesterday, I confirmed to them that (…) we are open to participating in a meeting in the UAE or another country proposed by the U.S. side,” Zelenskyy said.
The president clarified that Ukraine is not insisting exclusively on holding the meeting in the UAE. If the U.S. proposes another location, Kyiv is also ready to consider that option. Now, according to Zelenskyy, the U.S. side is awaiting a response from Russia. Washington has already presented the proposal for a trilateral meeting to the Russian side. “We are responding positively to the talks,” the president assured.
Thus, Ukraine has now declared its readiness to participate in such a format. At the same time, no specific date for the meeting has been set yet. Whether it takes place also depends on Russia’s position. Previously, the U.S. had already proposed holding a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia at the technical level. In late September, Zelenskyy reported that Washington had proposed the United Arab Emirates as a possible venue and was awaiting agreement on a date.
The technical format primarily involves negotiation teams working on specific issues. However, Ukraine’s willingness to participate in the meeting does not yet mean that the parties have already agreed on the terms or outcomes of potential negotiations. At present, the key issue remains Russia’s response to the U.S. proposal.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that threats from Moscow did not influence his decision to visit Kyiv. During his visit, Russian drones attacked the capital, but Merz said that even this would not change Germany’s position.
