Zelensky confirms Ukraine-Russia-US talks will take place in November

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Sunday that a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the United States will take place in November, in an attempt to restart peace talks that have been stalled since the start of the year.

"We are ready to talk. If it's a territorial issue, it must be addressed at a leadership level. Other issues fall within the remit of the technical groups. All this can therefore be discussed in November," Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian television, according to Le Progres.

Moscow had said on Friday that the gathering was pencilled in for Abu Dhabi, part of a fresh push by Washington to get the stalled negotiations moving again, Le Progres and La Libre reported. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said President Vladimir Putin was willing in principle to resume the process once 10 November had passed, following Putin's meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg, Euronews reported.

Zelensky again rejected a series of Russian demands on Sunday, saying security guarantees Ukraine is seeking from its Western allies, the size of its armed forces and its choice of alliances are "not negotiable," Le Progres reported. He said the question of territory claimed by Moscow in Ukraine can only be addressed at leadership level, meaning a meeting between himself and Putin, though the Kremlin has repeatedly rejected such a meeting before a final peace deal.

Zelensky also renewed his call for an energy ceasefire, as Ukraine braces for another winter of Russian strikes on its power grid, Le Progres reported. Russia has rejected any pause in fighting before a substantive agreement, arguing a truce would let Kyiv rearm.

Delegations from the three countries sat down three times earlier in the year without a breakthrough, gathering twice in Abu Dhabi during January and February and once more in Geneva, Euronews noted; the only tangible outcome of those rounds was a series of prisoner swaps, as Kyiv and Moscow held firm on their long-standing demands.