Zelensky: US Proposes Trilateral Talks by End of October
Ukraine's president says Washington proposes a technical-level three-way meeting by the end of the month and Kyiv has accepted. An energy truce and a grain corridor are on the table.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Kyiv on October 4 that the United States is proposing a three-way meeting with Ukraine and Russia, at a technical level, by the end of October. Kyiv has told Washington it accepts that deadline. For Serbia the agenda matters: the talks would cover an energy truce and a possible reopening of the Black Sea grain corridor, topics that touch markets where our country also does business.
Zelensky announced this at a news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who was visiting Kyiv. We covered the military side of that visit earlier; this is the diplomatic part of the same day.
What exactly has been proposed?
According to Zelensky, the American side is in contact with both Kyiv and Moscow. The Ukrainian president said:
“The American side is currently in contact with Ukraine and Russia and is proposing that some kind of technical-level meeting in a trilateral format be held by the end of October.”
No venue has been set. Zelensky said Ukraine is open to the United Arab Emirates, which has already hosted earlier talks, but not only to them. He said:
“We are open to the Emirates or any other country the American side proposes.”
He added that he knows Washington will put the same proposal to the Russian side, and may already have done so, though he was not sure in what order things happened. Moscow’s answer, he said, is still awaited. The Kremlin said last month that it does not rule out trilateral talks in October.
The day before, on October 3, Zelensky spoke with the American negotiating team, which includes special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. He declined to reveal details of the preparations.
Why did the talks stall, and what is on the agenda?
American efforts to mediate a ceasefire were halted once Washington entered the war with Iran. Now, according to Zelensky, Washington is seeking a technical meeting by the end of October. Witkoff and Kushner visited Kyiv and Moscow in early September, after which US President Donald Trump began urging both sides to stop striking each other’s energy facilities. Ukraine said it would accept an energy truce only if Russia also halts its attacks.
There are no signs from Moscow so far that it will stop strikes on the Ukrainian power grid, and Russia has said that ahead of winter its target remains Ukraine’s energy sector. Last winter, similar attacks left the country without electricity and heating for days, with temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius.
Besides energy, the grain corridor would also be on the agenda. Whether Moscow will respond at all is still open.
What does Zelensky say about Russian attacks?
While talks are being discussed, both sides are announcing stepped-up long-range strikes. At the same news conference, Zelensky said he is surprised by the way the war is being waged, not by the approach itself but by the tactics:
“Frankly, I am not surprised by this approach to war, Russia’s hatred of Ukraine, but I am surprised by the specific tactics.”
He again accused Moscow of targeting civilian infrastructure, including data centers and mobile network facilities, and added: “I am stunned by Russia’s savage desire to escalate the situation every single day.”
The day before, on October 3, Zelensky claimed that Vladimir Putin had issued a “new doctrine” allowing Russia to deliberately target Ukrainian civilians in the coming months. He said the Ukrainian side had seen documents that, in his words, permit attacks on infrastructure, logistics, roads, schools and hospitals, in order to pressure people into leaving the capital and other cities.
Who else is joining the mediation?
On the same day, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in New Delhi that his country wants a bigger role in mediation. India has been more active in recent months on shipping in the Black Sea, he said, where commercial vessels have been exposed to mines and attacks, and it is also discussing grain and energy exports.
Whether the trilateral meeting actually takes place by the end of October depends above all on Moscow’s answer, which has not yet arrived.
