Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said three-way working-level talks involving the United States to end the war with Russia could take place next month.
In an interview with Ukraine's 1+1 television released on the 25th, Zelensky said of the prospects for three-way talks that territorial issues must be handled at the level of leaders, while other matters could be negotiated at the level of working technical groups. "All of these discussions could take place in November," he said. "We are ready to enter three-way talks between working groups, and the talks must produce concrete results."
Zelensky said a U.S. delegation he met during a visit to Oslo, Norway, last week asked him what specifically he wanted. "I asked them in return whether we could end the war at the working group talks in November," he said.
He said the war could not be brought to a complete end without the leaders stepping in, but added that he had asked the U.S. side for a ceasefire in the energy sector, secured maritime shipping routes, a resolution of the grain issue, a full exchange of prisoners and the holding of a summit.
On a recent White House proposal for a localized ceasefire in the southern Ukrainian area of Oleshky starting on the 27th, he said it should not be a one-day affair but should continue for several days.
Zelensky also suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be signaling readiness for three-way talks because he does not want tensions with the United States to escalate ahead of the U.S. midterm elections early next month. "Once November comes, it will soon become clear whether it was a ploy or not," he added.
After Zelensky's interview was reported, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian military operations would not be constrained even if three-way talks involving the United States were held to end the war in Ukraine.
According to the TASS news agency on the 26th, Peskov told a briefing that a decision to resume three-way talks does not imply any limits on military operations. "Our forces are continuing the special military operation and are persistently carrying out large-scale strikes on Ukraine's military and paramilitary targets," he said. "The Kyiv regime is continuing all of its provocations."