Zelenskyy says further Ukraine-US-Russia talks are possible

What Happened

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an Axios interview, as reported by European Pravda, that another round of trilateral talks between the US, Ukraine and Russia is possible, though no decision has yet been made. Zelenskyy said Ukraine wants to use September and October to revive diplomatic efforts and suggested the United Nations General Assembly in New York, which takes place later this month, as a possible venue for further US-Ukraine talks. Zelenskyy stated: "We have this September, October to find any way to speak. Without dialogue … we will not have [a] result. I think that President Trump can find a way to [a] real beginning of the process of negotiating before [the] cold winter." He also stressed that Ukraine needs to remain militarily strong throughout the diplomatic process, claiming Kyiv is in a better battlefield position than before despite a shortage of air defence systems and continued Russian drone and missile attacks, and called on the US to impose additional sanctions on Russia as a key source of leverage, saying Putin needs money to continue the war. Separately, Zelenskyy said he had received a message from US President Donald Trump's negotiators that "the Russians are ready to negotiate". A source at the Élysée Palace told European Pravda that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin will be ready to resume peace negotiations on Ukraine after the Russian parliamentary elections on 18-20 September. Following talks in Kyiv with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the national security advisers from France, Germany and the UK — Emmanuel Bonne, Günter Sautter and Jonathan Powell — agreed to draw up, together with their Ukrainian counterparts, conditions to put forward in further negotiations with Russia over the coming weeks.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The reported readiness of Russian negotiators, combined with Zelenskyy's push for a diplomatic window in September and October before winter, signals a potential resumption of Ukraine-US-Russia diplomacy. The involvement of US negotiators Witkoff and Kushner and European national security advisers from France, Germany and the UK indicates an effort to coordinate Western conditions for negotiations while Ukraine seeks continued military strength and US sanctions pressure on Russia.

Watch For

Monitor the UN General Assembly in New York later this month for possible US-Ukraine talks; Russia's parliamentary elections on 18-20 September, after which the Élysée source said Putin will be ready to resume peace negotiations; the conditions being drawn up by French, German and UK national security advisers with Ukrainian counterparts over the coming weeks; and any additional US sanctions on Russia, as well as developments in Russian drone and missile attacks and Ukraine's air defence shortages.