Kyiv Sees Potential in Washington's Proposals as Diplomacy Moves Toward New Trilateral Talks
By Jahanzaib Saqib — SCN NEWS
KYIV, Sept. 8 (SCN NEWS) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy offered cautious support on Tuesday for new ideas presented by U.S. envoys seeking to revive negotiations with Russia, signalling that Kyiv sees potential room for diplomacy even as the two warring sides remain deeply divided over territory and Russian attacks continue to test prospects for de-escalation.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to both Russia and Ukraine over the weekend, holding lengthy discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskiy. The meetings produced no breakthrough in efforts to end a war now in its fifth year, but Zelenskiy's assessment indicated that at least some elements of Washington's latest approach were considered sufficiently serious for further negotiations.
Zelenskiy did not disclose the details of the proposals, saying Kyiv and the American envoys had agreed to work on them before discussing them publicly. That restraint is significant because Ukraine and Russia remain far apart on the central political and territorial questions surrounding any settlement, particularly the future of Ukrainian-held territory in the eastern Donbas region claimed by Moscow.
The diplomatic process could now broaden. Zelenskiy said Ukrainian, American and European representatives would meet in the near future to prepare for a possible trilateral meeting, with Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland among potential hosts. Grain shipments and energy infrastructure could be included in those discussions, and Zelenskiy said Ukraine was prepared to consider compromise in those areas.
Those subjects suggest negotiators may be searching for narrower agreements capable of reducing hostilities before attempting to resolve the much harder territorial dispute. Protecting energy infrastructure would be particularly consequential as Ukraine approaches winter, while arrangements covering grain movements could create a commercially and diplomatically measurable area of cooperation even without a comprehensive ceasefire.
Ukraine had already signalled willingness to explore limited de-escalation. On September 5, Zelenskyy said during a call with Witkoff and Kushner that Ukraine was prepared to observe a ceasefire covering strikes against cities involved in the negotiating process. The Ukrainian presidency said at the time that the American envoys had begun discussions with the Russian side.
The latest diplomacy nevertheless faces an immediate credibility test on the battlefield. Russia launched drones and missiles against Kyiv early Tuesday after a brief pause associated with the U.S. envoys' visit, killing three people, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Fires and damage were reported across several districts, including at high-rise buildings, a school, clinic, dormitory and warehouses.
The contrast between renewed attacks and renewed diplomacy illustrates the central problem confronting Washington's initiative. The U.S. envoys can establish channels between Moscow and Kyiv and identify limited areas of possible agreement, but neither side has yet demonstrated that it is prepared to accept the concessions required for a comprehensive settlement.
Putin's talks with Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow lasted more than three hours. The Kremlin described the discussions as useful, but there was no indication of a breakthrough. Putin praised President Donald Trump's attempts to end the conflict, while the fundamental disagreement over Ukraine's territory remained unresolved.
Zelenskiy has also indicated that the peace track will not replace Ukraine's push for additional military protection. He said he expects to meet Trump later in September and plans to discuss a winter air-defence support package. That approach reflects Kyiv's calculation that negotiations can proceed only alongside continued efforts to strengthen Ukraine's ability to withstand Russian missile and drone attacks.
The timing gives that prospective meeting additional diplomatic importance. With world leaders gathering in New York for the United Nations General Assembly later this month, the U.S.-Ukraine meeting could provide an opportunity to determine whether the ideas carried between Moscow and Kyiv by Witkoff and Kushner can be converted into a more structured negotiating framework.
Prisoner exchanges remain another potential area for tangible progress. Zelenskiy said negotiations should continue with the aim of increasing and accelerating exchanges, emphasizing that diplomacy would ultimately have to produce concrete outcomes rather than simply additional meetings.
The emerging process therefore appears more incremental than transformational. Rather than attempting immediately to settle the war's most politically explosive questions, negotiators could first pursue arrangements around energy infrastructure, grain movements, prisoner exchanges and other limited de-escalation measures capable of testing whether agreements can actually be implemented.
For Washington, the challenge will be turning shuttle diplomacy into direct negotiations without allowing the process itself to become a substitute for results. For Kyiv, the challenge is even sharper: remaining open to U.S.-brokered proposals while ensuring that temporary arrangements do not weaken Ukraine's longer-term security position.
Zelenskiy's remarks provide Washington with something it did not have before the weekend mission — a public indication from Kyiv that parts of the latest American proposal deserve further work. Whether that opening develops into substantive negotiations will depend on what Moscow is prepared to accept and whether continuing military operations can be reconciled with claims that the parties are moving toward peace.