Kyiv (Ukraine): Ukraine, the United States and Russia are preparing to restart stalled trilateral talks in November in a fresh attempt to end Europe’s worst conflict since the Second World War. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the negotiations would take place in the first half of November, with Abu Dhabi mentioned as a possible venue, although the date and location have not been formally confirmed.

President Zelenskyy said technical teams from the three countries would meet first. If progress is made, he expects talks involving himself, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. He said territorial questions should be reserved for leaders, while other issues could be handled by working groups. Ukraine will not discuss limits on its armed forces or forced neutrality, he added.

Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said Russia was ready to resume the three-way format after November 4, though he described the meeting as preliminary and said Moscow had no high expectations. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stressed that the decision to restart talks did not restrict Russian military operations, although Moscow could accept local humanitarian ceasefires.

The diplomatic movement followed a meeting in St Petersburg between President Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff. The Kremlin said Putin had agreed “in principle” to resume negotiations, with officials indicating a start after November 10.

Meanwhile, fighting has continued. Russia and Ukraine have begun a localised ceasefire in Oleshky, and Ukrainian authorities said some residents would be evacuated from the southern city from October 27.