US President Donald Trump said that the end of the war between Russia and Ukraine is "closer than ever". He said the US team is "very close to a deal", but he did not provide specific parameters or a timeframe for a possible agreement.
“When you are close to a deal and you are having very delicate negotiations, you do not impose sanctions”, Trump told reporters. He said he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war and that Washington was seeking to preserve the possibility of a diplomatic solution.
Moscow agrees to resume talks
Russia has agreed in principle to resume trilateral talks with the United States and Ukraine after November 10. This was announced by Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov after the Russian president's meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg.
According to Ushakov, future talks should be aimed at building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the end of the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he supported the resumption of talks, but warned that Moscow had repeatedly announced its readiness for talks, after which the meetings were canceled.
Earlier this year, delegations from the three countries held three rounds of talks in Abu Dhabi and Geneva. They have led to limited progress, mainly related to the exchange of prisoners of war, while Moscow and Kiev remain at odds over key terms for ending the war.
Pressure on Kiev and the release of an American
Trump's statement came amid increased pressure on Kiev to accept a deal with Moscow. At the White House, the US president said that the US had given a lot to Ukraine but had received “nothing in return but grief, death and enormous financial losses“.
On the same day, Russia released American citizen Steven Hubbard, who had been imprisoned for more than four years on charges of participating as a mercenary in the war in Ukraine. His lawyers deny the charges. Trump said he had requested his release during a conversation with Putin and that the US had given nothing in return.
Trump's upbeat assessment coincided with ongoing fighting. Ukrainian authorities reported five deaths and at least 23 injuries in Russian attacks on Kiev and Kharkiv. Moscow said the proposals discussed at the Oslo talks had little practical value, although it later described them as a step in the right direction.
Sources: apnews.com