Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said in a state TV interview on the 1st that Putin has never refused dialogue, leaving room for a phone call. He insisted any face-to-face meeting be held in Moscow, while Ukraine says a leaders’ summit is the key to breaking the negotiating deadlock.
According to China News Service and Russia’s TASS, Ushakov answered a question from a reporter for state broadcaster Vesti on the 1st local time. Asked whether President Vladimir Putin would answer if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky phoned directly, he said: ‘I think he would of course answer. Putin has never refused dialogue.’
광고 문의 · 300×250‘If he wants to talk, let him come to Moscow’
Ushakov added that if Zelensky wants to speak face to face with Russian leaders, he is welcome to visit Moscow. He also claimed Zelensky’s side is signaling willingness to talk through various channels, saying in effect that if he wants to negotiate, he should come. The only condition identifiable in the reports is meeting in Moscow; the content of the ‘signals’ he mentioned was not described.
The remark answered a hypothetical question. It was not an announcement that a call is being arranged or scheduled. Both Kyiv Post and TASS indicate that Ushakov expressed willingness to take a call without disclosing any concrete plan.
Kyiv wants a leaders’ meeting
According to Kyiv Post, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Zelensky is ready for a leader-level meeting with Putin. The logic is that territory requires a summit, while technical matters such as prisoner exchanges can be handled by lower-level delegations. Kyiv is understood to be open to freezing the front lines to limit casualties but not to ceding territory or recognizing Russian control of occupied areas.
A negotiating calendar was also mentioned. The same outlet said exploratory Ukraine-US-Russia talks are planned for the first half of November and that Ushakov put Russia’s resumption after its November 4 holiday. Turkey, Abu Dhabi and Switzerland were named as possible venues. TASS carried a related item suggesting Moscow might reconsider resuming talks because of Ukrainian attacks.
Views still diverge
Russia says it has ‘never refused talks’ while limiting the venue to Moscow; Ukraine wants a summit premised on a third-country venue. The two statements seem to point the same way, yet no common ground on venue or agenda is visible. Kyiv Post said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio doubts a peace deal before spring 2027; that is the outlet’s account and this newspaper could not verify it independently. Whether the remark signals real dialogue or a messaging contest over who holds the initiative remains to be seen.