Dmitry Peskov, press secretary to the Russian president, told journalists that Moscow does not exclude the resumption of trilateral negotiations with the participation of the United States and Ukraine in October. "Yes, we do not exclude such a possibility. We are talking precisely about the foreseeable future. That is, October cannot be excluded," Peskov said.
The statement came after the BRICS summit in India. On the sidelines of the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan.
After the meeting, aide to the Russian president Yuri Ushakov said the Russian authorities consider Abu Dhabi a "fully acceptable" venue for negotiations. In 2026, talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States have already been held in Abu Dhabi: the first round on January 23-24, the second on February 4-5. Another round (February 17-18) took place in Geneva.
The head of the office of the president of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, also spoke about the possible resumption of negotiations in October, the agency reports. According to French authorities, citing the White House, Moscow will be ready for negotiations after the State Duma elections.
In early September, US presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow and Kyiv. They said the United States wants to return to the trilateral format of negotiations. Witkoff expressed hope for an announcement about such negotiations "in the near future."
On August 25, CIA Director John Ratcliffe flew to Russia. American media, citing sources, reported that Ratcliffe could become the main negotiator with Russia. The White House did not officially confirm this.