US proposes trilateral meeting with Ukraine, Russia in UAE, Zelenskiy says

The United States has proposed that ​the United Arab Emirates host a ​trilateral meeting with Ukraine and Russia ‌to discuss ​efforts to end their four-and-a-half-year war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday.

"The American side has proposed... meeting at a technical level ‌in a three-way format," Zelenskiy told reporters in a briefing via WhatsApp. "We are awaiting a proposal from the United States regarding the date, and the United States has suggested the Emirates ‌as a possible location."

Zelenskiy held talks this week with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines ‌of the UN General Assembly in New York, where they discussed ways to bring an end to the war, launched by Russia's February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. After his talks with Trump, Zelenskiy said, Ukrainian negotiators ⁠met with ​their U.S. counterparts ⁠to discuss specific details.

"We will inform and discuss these details with the European side, the Americans will talk to ⁠the Russians, and we will return in 10 days with either a new perspective or a result," Zelenskiy ​said. The Kremlin said on Friday that a trilateral meeting with Ukraine and the US ⁠could happen soon.

The Ukrainian leader said he had asked Trump to raise the Ukraine war during his talks ⁠with ​Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is on a state visit to the US. Zelenskiy said he was still awaiting feedback from the US team, particularly regarding efforts to de-escalate the ⁠conflict ahead of winter.

He warned European partners, meanwhile, that Russia would continue its hybrid attacks against ⁠them, and said ⁠that Ukraine had offered its assistance to them. The Kremlin has denied being behind acts of sabotage in European countries in recent months.