Energy, shipping, and ending the war — Budanov spoke about preparations for the trilateral talks in October

Ukraine plans to hold a trilateral meeting with the United States and Russia next month. The issues expected to be discussed include a possible end to the war, reducing strikes on energy infrastructure, and the safety of shipping, Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov said in a comment to Novyny.LIVE, as reported by UNN.

According to Budanov, the Ukrainian side is preparing for a meeting at which a number of security and technical issues are to be considered.

"First, we are planning such a meeting. Second, reducing strikes on the energy sector. Well, terrorism is abnormal in principle. Security, shipping, and so on. We have many technical issues," the Head of the Office of the President said.

He named next month—October—as the tentative timeframe for the talks. At the same time, Budanov did not specify the exact date, location of the meeting, or composition of the delegations.

The Head of the Office of the President had previously also spoken about preparations for the October round of talks. In particular, on September 12, on the sidelines of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) forum in Kyiv, he confirmed to the media that Ukraine was preparing for talks in October in a trilateral format. At the time, he did not comment on a potential location for the meeting.

The United States proposed a technical meeting in the UAE

On September 25, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the American side had proposed preparing a meeting of representatives of Ukraine, the United States, and Russia at the technical level. Washington proposed the United Arab Emirates as a possible venue. At the time of the statement, Kyiv was awaiting proposals from the United States regarding the date. According to the president, the Ukrainian and American negotiating groups had also agreed to hold consultations with the European side. After that, the United States was to establish contacts with Russia, and approximately ten days later the parties planned to return to discussing the results. This timeframe concerned the consultations, not an announced date for trilateral talks.

That same day, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the possibility of such a meeting had been discussed during a phone call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. He allowed for it to take place in the near future, but did not provide any specific parameters.

What is being discussed regarding energy and shipping

The issue of a mutual cessation of strikes on energy infrastructure had already been raised during diplomatic contacts in September.

On September 14, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was ready to support de-escalation if its American partners could ensure Russia's genuine and long-term readiness to stop the strikes. This position was voiced after Trump's statement that the parties had allegedly reached an agreement not to attack energy facilities. At the same time, as Reuters reported, neither Ukraine nor Russia confirmed that such an agreement had been concluded at the time.

A separate area is the safety of maritime transport. On September 23, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was ready to do its part to ensure safe shipping and food security in the Black Sea, provided that Russia took genuine steps toward de-escalation.

According to the president, Egypt, India, and Turkey proposed their own options for ensuring maritime security. Ukraine supported measures capable of ensuring safe shipping and was awaiting a response from the Russian side.

Context

On September 6, American representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks with Zelenskyy in Kyiv after visiting Moscow. Following the meeting, the president confirmed Ukraine's readiness for trilateral talks. The parties also discussed the supply of air defense systems and support for Ukraine's energy sector ahead of winter.

We remind you

Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was looking for excuses not to meet and not to end the war.