Earlier on Wednesday, Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said the talks were still in a preparatory phase and called talk of an Abu Dhabi meeting premature. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov's remarks, reported later the same day, go further — tying the timing directly to the Middle East war and ruling out European negotiators. Read the earlier report
MOSCOW — The timing of the next round of three-way talks on a settlement of the Ukraine conflict is linked to the conflict in the Middle East, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying on Wednesday, casting doubt on whether the talks will take place next month as initially proposed, Reuters reported. Ushakov, quoted by Russian news agencies, said Moscow had not yet proposed a specific date for the talks.
Source: Reuters
"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, referring to the regional fallout from the US-Israeli war on Iran, according to Reuters.
Source: Reuters
Zelenskiy still hopes for November 6-10
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday he hoped a meeting would take place in Abu Dhabi between November 6 and November 10, Reuters reported. Speaking at a press conference in The Hague alongside Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, Zelenskiy said preparations were being made for a trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi and that Kyiv was waiting for the response from the American side, according to reporting based on Ukrinform. "After November 4 we will have a date," he predicted, saying he trusted Washington could close the details once the US midterm elections conclude on November 3.
Source: Democrata (Ukrinform reporting)
Zelenskiy left open a change of venue — "There are delicate moments in the Middle East. Perhaps we can change the venue. However, I think we should not change the dates" — and acknowledged he could not foresee when a leaders-level meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin might happen, the same reporting said.
Source: Democrata (Ukrinform reporting)
Europe ruled out — for now
Ushakov also said there had been no discussion of having European negotiators in attendance at the next round of talks, Reuters reported. The leaders of Britain, Germany and France said last weekend that Europe would play a role in US-mediated talks between Putin and Zelenskiy on securing a ceasefire. "There is absolutely no talk about this, nothing being considered," Ushakov 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."
Source: Reuters
The United States has led efforts to move forward with talks on finding a solution to the four-and-a-half-year-old Ukraine conflict, leaving European countries — Ukraine's closest allies and biggest military backers — largely on the sidelines, Reuters noted. At the weekend, Ushakov himself had said Europe should be included in discussions as its position could be crucial.
Source: Reuters