Budanov: Ukraine preparing for trilateral talks with US, Russia in October

A new round of peace talks involving the United States, Ukraine and Russia could take place in October, Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said.

According to Report, he made the remarks in comments to Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of a YES meeting in Kyiv.

"We are preparing. For October," Budanov said.

He also confirmed that the talks would be held in a trilateral format but declined to comment on a possible venue.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described talks held by special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Kyiv and Moscow last weekend as substantive and expressed hope that they would help pave the way for renewed negotiations.

Witkoff and Kushner were in Kyiv on September 6, where they held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European partners.

A day earlier, they visited Moscow and met Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Following the meeting, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to return to trilateral talks with the United States and Russia on ending the war.

He also announced an agreement to hold another meeting involving representatives of Ukraine, the United States and Europe.