Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he hoped technical-level talks involving Ukraine, Russia, and the United States aimed at ending the war would take place in Abu Dhabi between November 6 and 10.
Speaking at a press conference in The Hague on October 28, Zelenskyy said the prospect of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin remained uncertain.
"I don’t know when we will have a meeting with Russia on the level of leaders," he said. "It depends for today, with all respect to different countries, on the Russian side, because they never supported this before."
The Ukrainian leader's remarks came as a direct response to US President Donald Trump remarks to reporters earlier the same day that a meeting between Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, will be set up "very soon."
Trump didn’t specify a specific date or venue for the potential meeting but did add that “a lot of progress could be made.”
A G20 summit that Trump is hosting in Florida in December presents a potential opportunity for a face-to-face meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders, but Putin has yet to respond to a US invitation and he and Zelenskyy have differed starkly on the prospects for such a meeting.
Putin has sought to cast doubt on Zelenskyy’s legitimacy and has repeatedly said the presidents could only meet when a comprehensive peace deal has been agreed, though he has also suggested he and Zelenskyy could meet in Moscow.
The Kremlin knows that the prospect of a meeting in the capital of the country that is attacking Ukraine is unacceptable to Kyiv. Zelenskyy has expressed readiness to meet with Putin in a third country, and has said crucial issues such as territory can only be decided at the leadership level.
The American president’s comments come just a day after the Finnish President Alexander Stubb and the Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store held a 90-minute-phone call with Putin to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Nordic leaders also spoke to Zelenskyy over the phone.
In a press statement, Stubb noted that “the discussion was frank and substantive."
"We are neighboring countries to Russia. The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions," the Finnish president added.
Store had hosted Zelenskyy, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, and several European officials in Oslo on October 20 in an effort to ensure European countries have a role in negotiations to end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy, who several expressed the hope that European leaders and nations would be more involved in any peace negotiations said during his state visit to the Netherlands that "we count that Europe will have a huge role but also from Europe’s side we need more clarity on who represents Europe."
However, he did add that "if America will say this time, we just have trilateral talks, we will not destroy this format."
The flurry of Western diplomatic activity comes as Vladimir Putin earlier in October proposed a three-way summit with the United States and the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, toward the end of the year to conclude the war.
Trump said on October 19 that he was open to meeting Putin and Xi on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in China in November, although he suggested the main focus would be nuclear disarmament rather than Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio subsequently confirmed that discussions about a possible meeting had taken place but said arrangements had not been finalized.
The prospect of talks on Ukraine without Kyiv's participation has raised concerns, with Ukrainian officials insisting that their country must have a seat at the negotiating table.
Speaking about a potential US-China-Russia summit, Zelenskyy was skeptical that anything could be solved without a Ukrainian and European presence
"Russia wants to negotiate something new," he said. "They speak about some security infrastructure in Europe. How can you negotiate a security infrastructure in Europe without Europe? What will you negotiate? With whom? With China? Interesting."
Zelenskyy's visit to the Netherlands also brought new pledges of support for Ukraine from Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who announced that his country would provide 500 million euros ($557 million) in military assistance this winter, including drones and other equipment.
The Dutch government also pledged 1.2 billion euros ($1.33 billion) in nonmilitary support over the next three years, including funding for reconstruction and urgent repairs to Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Zelenskyy also announced on October 28 that UK has pledged 10 billion pounds ($13.30 billion) for the period of three coming years for Ukraine -- of which seven billion are meant for the needs of the country's war-struck economy and the rest for military needs.
"We are grateful for Britain's steady and its strong leadership stance," Zelenskiy wrote after his phone call with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Oleshky Cease-Fire Holds
Meanwhile both Ukraine and Russia confirmed that there had been no breaches of the US-negotiated local cease-fire around the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine in its first 30 hours.
The start of the cease-fire, brokered by US first lady Melania Trump, began at 3 a.m. local time on October 27, two days ahead of schedule "to protect the safety of civilians and to facilitate the delivery of critical humanitarian aid," she said in a post on X adding that the cease-fire’s geographic area "has expanded beyond Oleshky, within the Kherson region, to provide safe passage for the humanitarian convoys."
"We are happy to have two, three days for these people. You see them in the streets, it is a huge success if the evacuation will be positive and successful. We are thankful to the American side," Zelenskyy added.
The cease-fire will remain in effect until November 1 to allow residents to evacuate the frontline town, where deteriorating conditions had left many unable to flee.
