Russia says three-way talks with Ukraine, US could resume

Russia does not rule out fresh, three-way talks with Washington and Kyiv on the Ukraine war, the Kremlin said Monday, after a visit to Moscow and Kyiv by US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

US-led diplomatic efforts to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have stalled in recent months, as Washington has shifted focus towards the war with Iran.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators last met for US-mediated talks in February, in Geneva, but failed to reach an agreement on the thorny issue of territory.

Talks have not resumed since.

Russia “does not rule out the resumption of the trilateral format, but it is too early to say anything about the venue or the exact dates at this stage,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Witkoff and Kushner met with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend in a renewed push to end the fighting.

A senior Ukrainian presidential source told AFP that the pair had brought “more effective” proposals on ending the war, although neither Moscow and Kyiv announced a breakthrough.

The four-and-a-half year conflict has left tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians dead.

Talks remain deadlocked over the issue of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, which Russia does not fully control but has demanded as part of any peace settlement.