Kremlin does not rule out return to Ukraine talks in October

MOSCOW

Sputnik Photo

Three-way negotiations with Ukraine and the United States on ending the war could take place in October, the Kremlin said on Sept. 13.

"We do not rule out such a possibility; we are talking about the foreseeable future," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

Washington seeks to kick-start long-stalled diplomatic efforts to end the four-year-long conflict.

U.S. negotiators recently visited Kyiv and Moscow, while U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held discussions by telephone.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed willingness to meet Putin at the G20 summit in Miami in December, according to an interview published on Sept. 12.

Peskov immediately dismissed the proposal as "impossible," repeating Moscow's insistence on holding meetings exclusively in the Russian capital.

Putin has repeatedly rejected invitations for direct sit-downs with Zelensky to negotiate an end to the fighting.

Both capitals escalated long-range strikes in recent months, driving civilian casualties to peak levels.

Moscow still refuses to drop preconditions to halt hostilities, including demands for Ukrainian territorial concessions in the east.

Negotiators currently lack a coordinated framework for formal discussions, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Sept. 13.

Resolving the territorial dispute remains a primary consideration alongside numerous other complex questions, Ushakov added.