On October 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed in an interview with the Ukrainian TV channel TSN that the United States, Russia, and Ukraine will hold tripartite technical-level talks in November. He emphasized that territorial issues are red lines, and related discussions can only take place at the leader level.
On that day, Zelenskyy emphasized in an interview that Ukraine’s security is determined by Ukraine itself, not Russia. “Restrictions on our military, as well as Ukraine’s neutrality, are not part of the negotiation agenda.”
He mentioned that the issue of NATO’s involvement in Ukrainian security matters will ‘undoubtedly’ be discussed during negotiations.
Zelenskyy said that if Ukraine cannot join NATO, European countries and the United States should agree that NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause applies to Ukraine. Moreover, after a peace agreement is reached, Ukraine still needs to maintain a strong military force.
He stated that before holding meetings with Russian President Putin and U.S. President Trump, tripartite technical-level talks should be conducted first.
"Territorial issues are red lines, they can only be discussed at the leadership level," Zelensky said. "Everyone should understand that we will not exchange anything. We are willing to negotiate. If territorial issues are involved, we will discuss them at the leadership level. Other issues can be left for technical working groups to negotiate. All of this can be discussed at the November meeting."
Zelenskyy said that as part of the negotiations, he is prepared to discuss a ceasefire in energy production between Russia and Ukraine, the establishment of new agreements to ensure food transportation through the Black Sea, and the exchange of prisoners of war.
He also warned that relaxing sanctions against Russia before a meeting between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, and Germany would weaken Ukraine's influence. “During my meeting with Putin, I don’t want to have nothing to rely on—no sanctions, no funds, and no frozen assets. Because then, as Trump said, we would really have very few options.”
Additionally, Zelenskyy also discussed the Omsk talks with the United States. He said that during his meeting with U.S. Special Envoy Wietzke, the issues discussed included shortages of Ukrainian air defense systems, limitations on "Starlink" and "Star Shield" services, and restrictions on US cooperation in Ukrainian intelligence activities.
He pointed out that although the last two issues have been resolved, there is still a lack of crucial air defense assistance. ‘There’s progress, but it’s too slow. Just saying ‘we will provide you with Patriot missiles’ doesn’t mean they will be delivered in one or two months. This simply won’t work.’
On October 25, Trump said that the US-Russia-Ukraine tripartite talks on the Ukraine issue would take place “soon”, but did not disclose a specific schedule.
He said that he believes both Russia and Ukraine want to reach an agreement.
Earlier on the 25th, Russian President's Assistant Ushakov said that Russia is willing to resume tripartite negotiations between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine after November 4th.
