Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov Hopes U.S.-Mediated Ukraine Talks Resume Soon

Russia said it hopes U.S.-mediated peace talks with Ukraine will resume soon, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling Reuters on Wednesday that "We hope that these negotiations will resume in the foreseeable future."R

“We hope that these negotiations will resume in the foreseeable future”

Reuters

Reuters reported that no talks between Russia and Ukraine have taken place since February, but President Donald Trump sent his negotiators to Moscow and then Kyiv at the weekend to relaunch the stalled process.R

En Mayúscula

In Ukraine, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also praised efforts to reanume direct negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States, saying "We hope that we reanume the trilateral conversations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States."

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said on 8 September that a face-to-face meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump had been agreed preliminarily and "could" take place "at the end of this month," with the 81st period of sessions of the United Nations General Assembly in New York listed as a possible venue.

Tykhyi said that after such a meeting, Ukrainian authorities would proceed to organize a trilateral encounter between Ukraine, the United States and Russia, with possible venues including the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Turkey, or another country willing to host it.

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Witkoff wrote on X that "Substantial progress was made, including a willingness to schedule new trilateral conversations."

The Kyiv Independent reported that Ukraine plans to sign contracts for around 1,000 Patriot missiles with partner support and EU loan funding, with Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara saying on Sept. 8 that "Ukraine is preparing to sign contracts for the delivery of around 1,000 missiles."

Kyiv Post

Meanwhile, the other report on the war described a massive Russian attack on Kyiv that killed two people and left 10 injured in the capital, with the number of injured rising to 10.

The same report said that in the Zaporizhzhia front, Ukrainian drone operators destroyed a Russian Osa surface-to-air missile system, and it added that Ukrainian energy workers restored the external power supply to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

After the overnight attack, Kyiv changed the operating pattern of public transport and metro authorities ordered measures to ensure proper functioning, while the Élysée Palace said preparations to transfer an SAMP/T air defense system to Ukraine are continuing.

The diplomatic track is tied to prisoner exchanges and broader settlement discussions, with Reuters saying Peskov called the issue of exchanging prisoners between Russia and the U.S. "a constant item on the agenda," including between the two presidents.R

“a constant item on the agenda”

Reuters

Reuters also reported that Russia released one American prisoner, Robert Gilman, at Trump's request last month, and it described a prior August 2024 deal in which Russia got back eight prisoners held in the West and released 16 people from Russian and Belarusian jails.R

On the Ukrainian side, Zelensky said he intends to use September and October to resume the negotiation process, and the other report said the participants agreed that work must continue toward a ceasefire that could help prevent further loss of life.

Defense planning is also part of the immediate stakes, with the Kyiv Independent reporting that the European Commission is expected to approve the final 28.3-billion-euro ($33-billion) tranche of this year’s defense loans for Ukraine on Sept. 11.

In parallel, the same report said Ukraine is seeking additional air-to-air missiles and man-portable air defense systems to counter cruise missiles and jet-powered attack drones, while the Élysée Palace preparations for SAMP/T and consultations in Kyiv with European partners were described as laying groundwork for a new phase of negotiations.