Moscow, September 8, 2026 – The Europe Today: Russia has welcomed efforts to revive direct negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, as Washington intensifies diplomatic efforts to seek a settlement to the Ukraine conflict.
Speaking to media on Tuesday ahead of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, Peskov said intensive diplomatic contacts were underway, with US negotiators carrying messages between Moscow and Kyiv.
“We hope for a restart of negotiations between three parties – Russia, Ukraine, and America,” Peskov said. “We do hope for the best. We do hope that sooner or later we will pursue a peaceful solution.”
Peskov said Moscow welcomed mediation efforts by both Washington and New Delhi, stressing that Russia had never wanted the Ukraine conflict to occur. He reiterated Moscow’s position that its military operation was launched with the stated aim of ending the conflict that Russia says began in 2014 following the Maidan events.
The Kremlin spokesman also questioned Kyiv’s willingness to end the hostilities, saying Ukraine did not appear to be sufficiently “flexible” or “really willing” to reach a settlement.
According to Peskov, the Ukrainian position was being influenced to a significant extent by certain European countries that, he said, continued to pursue the objective of achieving a strategic defeat of Russia.
His remarks came after a fresh round of shuttle diplomacy by US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The two US officials met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday for more than three hours before traveling to Kyiv the following day for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Kremlin described the Moscow meeting as constructive and “extremely candid,” saying the US representatives had presented several proposals for ending the conflict, while Putin reiterated Russia’s conditions for what it considers a lasting settlement.
Witkoff subsequently said progress had been made toward arranging another trilateral meeting and expressed optimism that diplomatic efforts could ultimately lead to an agreement.
Zelensky said on Tuesday that the next trilateral talks could potentially be held in the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Switzerland or another country, possibly as early as September or October. Moscow and Washington have not yet announced a specific venue or timetable.
The trilateral format was last used in Geneva in February, following two earlier rounds of negotiations in Abu Dhabi. While the talks failed to produce a major breakthrough, Washington described the discussions as having made “meaningful progress.”
The negotiations subsequently stalled as the United States shifted its attention toward its conflict with Iran, while fighting between Russia and Ukraine continued.
Moscow has repeatedly said it remains open to diplomatic engagement but maintains that any comprehensive settlement must address what it considers the root causes of the conflict and take into account the realities that have emerged on the ground.
Kyiv, meanwhile, has continued to reject Russian demands concerning territorial and security issues, leaving major differences unresolved between the two sides.
