The Kremlin said on Monday that it did not rule out the resumption of peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States on the Ukraine war, but said it was too early to say when and where such talks might take place.
This comes after a weekend visit to Moscow and Kyiv by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner who are trying to breathe new life into stalled talks designed to find a way to end the war in Ukraine.
US-led diplomatic efforts to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have stalled in recent months, as Washington has shifted focus towards the war with Iran.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators last met for US-mediated talks in February, in Geneva, but failed to reach an agreement on the thorny issue of territory, and talks have not resumed since.
Russia ‘does not rule out the resumption of the trilateral format, but it is too early to say anything about the venue or the exact dates at this stage,’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Witkoff and Kushner met with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend in a renewed push to end the fighting.
A senior Ukrainian presidential source told AFP that the pair had brought ‘more effective’ proposals on ending the war, although neither Moscow nor Kyiv announced a breakthrough.
The four-and-a-half year conflict has left tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians dead.
Talks remain deadlocked over the issue of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, which Russia does not fully control but has demanded as part of any peace settlement.
