MOSCOW — The Kremlin has cast doubt on whether the next round of three-way talks on ending the war in Ukraine will take place next month at all, with foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov saying the timing is linked to the war in the Middle East and that Moscow has not yet proposed a specific date, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Source: Reuters via The Business Standard
"It will also depend on the situation on the battlefield and the situation in general. You can see the situation now in the Middle East. It just doesn't allow us to hold it in the near future. That's my assumption," Ushakov told journalists on Wednesday, according to Russian news agencies quoted by Reuters, referring to the regional fallout from the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The remarks are a step back from the certainty of recent days. US President Donald Trump said this week that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would be set up "very soon", and earlier this month Moscow agreed in principle to resume trilateral talks. Zelenskiy said on Wednesday he hoped a meeting would take place in Abu Dhabi between 6 November and 10 November. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded cautiously to Trump's "soon" remark, saying the word was fluid, the Seoul Economic Daily reported, citing Russian reporting.
Ushakov also ruled out a seat for Europe at the next round. "There is absolutely no talk about this, nothing being considered," he was quoted as saying. "What there is now is an agreement on resuming three-sided consultations with representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the United States." He said the possible participation of European countries was not discussed during Putin's 90-minute phone call on Tuesday with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Interfax reported, in coverage carried by Al Jazeera.
Source: Al Jazeera via EuropeSays
That conflicts with other accounts. Stubb told a meeting of the Nordic Council in Helsinki that European countries would be involved in November's Abu Dhabi talks, and the leaders of Britain, Germany and France said last weekend that Europe would play a role in US-mediated talks on a ceasefire. Ushakov himself said at the weekend that Europe should be included in discussions because its position could be crucial, Reuters noted — making his latest remarks a shift in tone. Zelenskiy, speaking in the Netherlands on Wednesday, said Kyiv wanted Europe involved, arguing that unity and stronger pressure on Russia were needed.
European support for Kyiv continued while the argument over the table went on. Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten pledged an extra 500 million euros (about $556 million — yaani roughly 55.6 crore dollars) for military support this winter to buy drones and other material, and the Dutch government announced a wider package of 1.2 billion euros (about $1.33 billion — yaani roughly 133 crore dollars) over the next three years plus 40 million euros for the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, Al Jazeera reported. Zelenskiy also thanked British Prime Minister Andy Burnham for a support package worth 10 billion pounds (about $13.3 billion — yaani roughly 1,330 crore dollars), which Downing Street said includes 500 million pounds in additional military support for Ukraine's air defences this winter.
The United States has led efforts to move the talks forward on a settlement of the war, now in its fifth year, leaving European countries — Ukraine's closest allies and biggest military backers — largely on the sidelines, Reuters said. With Moscow proposing no date, Kyiv naming 6–10 November, and Washington promising a leaders' meeting "very soon", the three capitals are publicly working to three different calendars.