Ukraine Warupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 21 July 2019Zelenskyy Says Ukraine, Russia And US Will Restart Trilateral Peace Talks Next Month
5 Western Mainstream3 Local Western1 West AsianPhoto: Mykola Lazarenko / Presidential Office of Ukraine, CC BY 4.0 · Cropped for layout
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Trilateral talks among Ukraine, the US, and Russia set for November to restart peace talks. Zelensky says ready to talk; territorial issues addressed at leadership level; others to technical groups.
9 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on White House Announces Melania Trump-Backed Humanitarian Ceasefire for Oleshky Starting October 29 →
Talks Restart, War Continues
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine, Russia and the US have agreed to hold trilateral talks next month, while he renewed his push for a meeting with Putin to discuss any ‘territorial issues’. Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the decision to resume trilateral negotiations with Russia, Ukraine and the US does not mean any halts on hostilities, and he said Russia continues to “inflict massive and consistent strikes” on Ukraine.
“‘The decision to resume trilateral negotiations’ does not mean any halts on hostilities.”
Zelenskyy outlined expectations for the upcoming trilateral peace negotiations and stressed that “Restrictions on our army and Ukraine's neutrality are not up for discussion.” Zelenskyy said, “We are ready to talk.”
Local Truces in Oleshky
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia will not slow its offensive against Ukraine despite plans to resume US-brokered peace talks, but he said Moscow is open to localized humanitarian ceasefires.
Peskov told reporters, “For humanitarian purposes, absolutely,” as the agreement for a localized ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky in the Kherson region was intended to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and civilian evacuations.
The White House estimates that between 1,700 and 2,000 people remain in Oleshky, including elderly residents and around 50 children, according to the Kyiv Post.
Zelenskyy said the planned Oct. 27 ceasefire in Oleshky would need to last several days and include Russian assistance, and he said, “Of course, Russia will do everything it can to clear the roads in a way that encourages people to go towards Russia and stay there.”
NATO Demands and Security Stakes
Russia is expected to use a new round of Ukraine peace talks to press for concessions that could weaken NATO’s eastern defenses, including a possible demand that the alliance roll back its military footprint to 1997 levels. Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Europe should join negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, and the United States because Europe would be central to any eventual agreement, and he said the meeting was a “trial run”.
Zelensky told Alla Mazur that the issue of territory is a red line that can only be discussed at the level of leaders, and he said, “If it's a territorial issue, then at the level of leaders.” Zelenskyy renewed his push for a meeting between him and Vladimir Putin, and he said at the trilateral talks Ukraine will not discuss limits to its armed forces, or enforced postwar neutrality.