Zelenskyy backs US push for high-level Ukraine-Russia-US talks

Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced his support for a U.S. initiative to convene a high-level summit with Russia and the United States to discuss the war in Ukraine, aiming for a date no later than early November. The statement came after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Norway, spent three hours in St. Petersburg meeting President Vladimir Putin, and then flew to Oslo for talks with Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

Following the St. Petersburg meeting, Støre said the three parties had reached a consensus to organize a new trilateral conference, probably in the middle of November, and Russia's adviser Jurij Usjakov indicated the talks would focus on building a post-conflict security framework for both Russia and Ukraine. Moscow suggested Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates as a possible host city, while the United States and Ukraine have not yet commented on the location proposal. The prospective summit aims to create a security architecture after the conflict ends.