US Proposes Ukraine-Russia Trilateral Talks in UAE, Zelensky Says

The US has proposed holding technical-level trilateral talks between Ukraine, the US, and Russia, with the United Arab Emirates suggested as the venue, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday, Sept. 25. Kyiv is now waiting for Washington to propose a date for the meeting, Zelensky told journalists, including Kyiv Post. JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “As for the trilateral meeting, the US side proposed preparing it and holding a meeting in a trilateral format at the technical level,” Zelensky said. “We are waiting for proposals from the US regarding the date. As for where – the US proposed the Emirates,” he added. The proposed meeting comes as Washington steps up diplomatic efforts to broker an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. Zelensky has said Ukraine is discussing several possible avenues toward a ceasefire, including an energy ceasefire, a maritime ceasefire and the US-proposed trilateral negotiation format. The US has also invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the G20 summit in Miami in December, potentially opening the door to talks involving Putin, US President Donald Trump, and Zelensky. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the invitation on Thursday after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Rubio said the invitation was intended to give Putin an opportunity to engage with Trump and other world leaders, but did not mean a meeting was imminent. Other Topics of Interest EU Vows to Condemn Russia at G20 Even if Putin Attends Brussels says it will use the December summit in Miami to denounce Russia’s war, while France’s Le Pen separately welcomed the US invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin initially welcomed the invitation, saying the matter would be handled through diplomatic channels. But on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was too early to discuss Putin traveling to Miami, saying Moscow had not yet made a decision and would respond later. The Kremlin has previously rejected the possibility of a Putin-Zelensky meeting at the G20 summit, with Peskov saying the two leaders could only meet in Moscow. Zelensky, meanwhile, has said he is ready to attend the G20 summit and meet Putin if Washington invites the Russian leader. The G20 summit is scheduled for Dec. 14-15 in Miami. Abu Dhabi in focus Russia also sees Abu Dhabi as a priority venue for a possible resumption of negotiations, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said earlier. The possibility of restarting talks was discussed after Russian President Vladimir Putin met US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, in Moscow on Sept. 5. The meeting lasted more than three hours, with the sides discussing what Washington could “actually do” to help end the war, according to the Kremlin. The following day, the US delegation traveled to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian officials. Witkoff described the discussions with Putin as constructive and said Washington had heard “new ideas” from Moscow, while Kushner referred to a broader “peace package.” Zelensky called his talks with the US envoys “very substantial” and said Kyiv was ready to move toward trilateral negotiations involving Ukraine, the US and Russia. National security advisers from Britain, France, and Germany also joined part of the Kyiv discussions. Previous rounds of trilateral talks were held in the UAE in January and February, followed by a third round in Switzerland in February. A fourth round was planned for March in Abu Dhabi but was postponed amid fighting in the Middle East. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.