Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia has shown a willingness to negotiate a settlement to the war following talks with US envoys in Moscow and Kyiv.
According to Axios, Zelensky said US officials Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner told him that “the Russians are ready to negotiate” after holding separate meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ukrainian leader.
The weekend diplomatic mission is Washington’s latest attempt to break the deadlock in efforts to end the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Witkoff said there had been progress during the discussions and raised the possibility of reviving three-way peace talks involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine.
Zelensky said the Trump administration was seeking to de-escalate the conflict before the onset of another harsh winter, when Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure could leave millions without electricity and heating.
“Russia really thinks that this winter can help them to break us,” Zelensky told Axios.
He said US proposals discussed during the meetings covered energy facilities, grain shipments and oil and gas exports, although he declined to provide further details.
Zelensky also suggested that US President Donald Trump could exert pressure on Putin to reduce tensions, arguing that the Russian leader does not want to “upset” his US counterpart.
The Ukrainian president said Washington’s immediate objective was to restart negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv and prevent the coming winter from repeating the hardships of previous years.
The broader goal, he said, was to make enough progress before or during winter to “bring (the) sides closer to the peace”.
