Zelensky says US wants three-way talks by end of October

The United States wants Russia and Ukraine to take part in three-way technical talks before the end of October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visit the site of last Wednesday's Russian strike on the National Academy of Sciences building in Kyiv, Oct. 4, 2026.

EPA/MAXYM MARUSENKO

Speaking at a news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Zelensky said Washington was in contact with both Kyiv and Moscow and wanted to arrange a meeting "in one way or another."

He said he spoke to the US negotiating team on Saturday and confirmed that Ukraine was ready to back such a meeting.

Yesterday, I spoke with the American negotiating team. Today, the American side is in contact with both Ukraine and Russia and is proposing a trilateral meeting at the technical level by the end of October. Yesterday, I confirmed to them that our side is ready to support holding such a meeting by the end of October. There is no new information here. We are open to the United Arab Emirates or another country proposed by the American side. I know they will propose this to the Russian side as well, or may have already done so. We will wait for the response. We respond positively to negotiations. From the press conference with Friedrich Merz. (3/3)

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 4, 2026

He added that Kyiv was open to holding it in the United Arab Emirates or any other venue Washington proposed.

Ukraine was responding positively, he said, and was waiting for Russia's reaction.

Zelensky told the Reuters news agency on Saturday that the United States had not yet proposed a date or place.

Negotiations between the warring sides have been suspended since February. Moscow is demanding, among other things, that Kyiv hand over the part of the Donbas region it still controls, about 25 percent of Donetsk province, and abandon its aspirations to join NATO.

At the same news conference, Zelensky thanked Germany for its support, including 2,000 Bars drones, which the two countries produce together and which are due to be sent to Kyiv.

In a post on X summarising his remarks, he said the long-range interceptor drones had delivered the best results among such systems. He described them as "almost" like "missiles" and said they were now "showing a shoot-down rate of around 30 percent, with improvements under way.

"We are grateful to Germany," he wrote.

As for interceptor drones, the “Bars” have shown positive results – they have the highest success rate. The others are catching up as well. These are long-range drones that are almost missiles. And right now, they are showing a shoot-down rate of around 30%. But everything is improving. We are grateful to Germany. We will receive 2,000 “Bars,” which we are producing jointly. The “Turrets” program. We have only just begun developing it properly. There will be dozens of these “turrets” at different facilities. We will defend them however we can. There is also a small-missile program. There are several types. We expect to see results in the second half of this month. If we get the results, we will be able to immediately move to a proper production volume of the corresponding product. From the press conference with Friedrich Merz. (1/3)

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 4, 2026

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Source: PAP