The United States is preparing trilateral talks with Russia and Ukraine aimed at ending the war, said House Speaker Mike Johnson in an interview quoted by Bloomberg. According to him, Washington is close to starting the talks.
Johnson reported that he spoke with President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the weekend. The two informed him of the US administration's plans for talks involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine.
„They are working to end Russia's war against Ukraine“, Johnson said.He added that the countries are „on the threshold“ the start of the trilateral talks. The Speaker of the House of Representatives stressed that the process includes many complex elements, but the US administration is doing everything possible to end the conflict.
Moscow also expressed readiness for talks
The development followed a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg on October 21. After the talks, Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said that the Russian president had agreed in principle to resume the trilateral talks after November 10.
According to the Associated Press, the talks are expected to focus on creating a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the end of the war. The venue, format or level of participants in the possible next meeting have not yet been announced.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kiev supports Washington's efforts to quickly resume negotiations. According to him, the agenda is related to ending the war, bringing peace closer and preparing for a meeting at the leadership level.
Previous meetings did not lead to a breakthrough
Representatives of the three countries have already held three rounds of talks in 2026. Two of the meetings were in Abu Dhabi in January and February, and the third in Geneva in February. According to the Associated Press, they led to limited results, including an exchange of prisoners of war, but not to an agreement to end the war.
Among the main unresolved issues remain security conditions, territorial disputes and guarantees for Ukraine. It is not clear when exactly the new round of talks will begin and whether they will be at the technical or political level.
Sources: jbiznews.com, apnews.com, kyivindependent.com