Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Monday that technical talks on Russia's war in Ukraine would likely take place in the near future, but added that he did not expect a quick agreement, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
"I think everyone will witness negotiations very soon. "However, they will mainly concern the technical side of things and the preparation for something bigger, which I hope we will eventually get to," Budanov said in an interview for the YouTube project "Moseichuk+".
The US-backed peace talks have so far failed to produce tangible steps towards ending the war, which has been going on for five years, Reuters notes. The last round of the trilateral talks took place in February.
In response to a question about whether the fighting would continue into the winter, Budanov said it was "unrealistic" to expect the war to end now.
In recent months, both sides have significantly stepped up attacks on logistics, port infrastructure and energy facilities. Russia is also expected to renew its campaign against Ukraine's power grid as winter approaches, Reuters notes.
Ukraine and Russia must reach a point where they are ready to simultaneously take a step towards each other, said Budanov, who is the Ukrainian representative in the talks. He added that Kiev is open to this.
"And at the moment the Russian Federation - and I say this to you as a person who is a key participant in this process - is saying bluntly: "Maybe we would like to, but no".
Russia's key demand is that Ukraine withdraw from the part of Donbas that Russian troops have not managed to occupy.
Kiev insists that it will not cede territories it continues to control.