On November 3 local time, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy stated during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Merz that he would not make a phone call with Russian President Putin, but instead preferred a face-to-face meeting.
Zelensky said that telephone conversations will be very "dull" and unable to discuss practical solutions to end the conflict. "It cannot be just empty talk; we need to sit down and negotiate. If we want to end the war, we must meet and take the first step—a cease-fire."
Zelenskyy stated that he would not invite Putin to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, nor would he go to Moscow, the capital of Russia, for negotiations. He added that Ukraine always believes that Europe needs to be involved in all peace negotiations, and even in the trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia, Europe should be involved “in some form”.
Zelenskyy said in an interview with CNN that he hoped Turkish President Erdogan could act as a mediator to arrange a meeting between him and Putin. Zelenskyy said, “I know that Erdogan is in contact with Putin, so we support the idea of meeting in Turkey.”
Regarding the meeting between Russian and Ukrainian leaders, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov stated on October 31, "If Ukrainian President Zelenskyy wishes to meet with Russian leader Putin, he should go to Moscow. We will ensure his safety. Once again, if he wants to meet, let him come to Moscow."
The Russian side has confirmed that a tripartite negotiation between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine will take place in Abu Dhabi from November 10th to 11th. This will be the first substantive renegotiation between the three parties since the negotiations were suspended in February this year due to US mediation.
Russian President's Press Secretary Peskov said on the 3rd that Europe cannot participate in the negotiations on Ukraine to be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. "Because what we are discussing is a pre-agreed tripartite framework, meaning Russia and Ukraine are involved, with the United States acting as mediator." However, he also added that Russia will sooner or later need to engage in dialogue with European countries regarding Europe's future security system.
