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Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov has commented on planned peace talks on the Ukraine conflict in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and possible contacts between the parties.
Redaktor.az reports, citing Russian media, that the Kremlin official, discussing the possibility of European representatives joining the process, noted that contacts with Washington were in place at the initial stage.
“We have working-level contacts with the Americans. For this reason, it makes sense for the first rounds of talks to be held in a trilateral format (Russia, the United States and Ukraine),” Ushakov said.
Ushakov also did not rule out the possibility that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could travel to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin aide claimed that Kyiv regularly sends signals through various intermediaries and channels: “Zelensky wants to talk and is sending signals. If he wants to talk so much, let him come to Moscow.”
Asked, “If Zelensky calls, would Putin answer the phone?”, Ushakov stressed that the Russian leader was open to dialogue: “I think Putin would answer the call. Putin has never refused to meet or hold talks.”
