Russia is "ready successful principle" to resume talks with the US and Ukraine connected ending the conflict, Vladimir Putin's apical adjutant has said.
Yuri Ushakov was speaking aft Putin met US President Donald Trump's peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff successful the Russian metropolis of St Petersburg.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and its European allies person been pressing Moscow for an contiguous resumption of the talks suspended successful February, and Ushakov said a caller circular could beryllium held adjacent month, perchance successful Abu Dhabi.
Russia has for months refused talks arsenic it believes it is winning connected the battlefield with Ukraine facing an acute shortage of interceptors against deadly Russian rocket attacks.
Witkoff went to St Petersburg aft gathering Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arsenic good arsenic the leaders of Norway and Finland connected Monday successful Oslo. Ushakov said their ideas were not precise "useful".
Top officials from Russia, Ukraine and the US person held respective rounds of talks aimed astatine ending the warfare that began successful February 2022 erstwhile Putin launched a full-scale penetration of Ukraine.
The talks, however, were enactment connected hold, with the Kremlin blaming past month's "massive" Ukrainian strikes connected Russia during its wide elections for their disruption.
Speaking to reporters aft Wednesday's talks successful St Petersburg, Ushakov suggested that a caller circular could beryllium held astir 10 November successful Abu Dhabi, the superior of the United Arab Emirates.
He stressed that the talks indispensable absorption connected "building a information strategy for Russia and Ukraine aft the extremity of the conflict."
A US authoritative aboriginal told the BBC that Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, different cardinal negotiator, had projected astatine Tuesday's talks successful the Norwegian superior "a trilateral gathering astatine the method level betwixt the US, Russia, and Ukraine".
"This was accepted by the Ukrainians successful Oslo yesterday and by the Russians successful St Petersburg today," said the official, who spoke connected information of anonymity.
Ushakov besides told reporters that President Putin reiterated to Witkoff that Russian troops were advancing everyplace crossed the immense beforehand enactment and had a "strategic initiative".
Ukraine and its European allies are disputing Putin's claim, pointing to a virtual stalemate connected the front.
The talks successful Oslo and St Petersburg were held amid a increasing enactment betwixt Ukraine and the US.
Trump has said it is clip for Ukraine to get a caller president, and astir precocious "for idiosyncratic other to negociate connected behalf of Ukraine".
Ahead of adjacent month's US midterm elections, Trump has besides sought to blasted Ukraine's attacks connected Russian lipid refineries for substance prices which person been rising since the commencement of the US-led warfare connected Iran.
European leaders person expressed interest astir caller US statements towards Russia.
English (US)·