Kremlin says an EU negotiator on Ukraine would be 'good' if sincere, and that a Trump visit to Moscow is not under discussion
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would welcome a European Union negotiator who genuinely sought a peace settlement, after reports named Finnish President Alexander Stubb as a possible candidate. He said attention was on the APEC summit in Shenzhen rather than a Trump visit to Moscow, and that Vladimir Putin will not deliver an address to parliament this year.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday 25 October that Russia would support the appointment of a European Union negotiator for talks on the war in Ukraine, provided that person genuinely sought a peaceful settlement, the state news agency TASS reported.
“If there is a negotiator, that is good. If it is a negotiator who sincerely seeks to help a peaceful settlement, that will be even better,” Peskov said (our translation). He was responding to reports that Finnish President Alexander Stubb had been put forward as a possible EU negotiator. Peskov said the EU had been considering the idea for a long time but had not yet moved from discussion to action. The EU has not named a negotiator.
Asked about a possible visit by US President Donald Trump to Moscow, Peskov told RIA Novosti: “There is no talk of that now, everyone is now looking at Shenzhen.” The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit takes place in Shenzhen, China, on 18 and 19 November. Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said earlier that there was interest in a meeting of the Russian, US and Chinese leaders there, RIA Novosti reported.
Peskov also told RIA Novosti that President Vladimir Putin does not plan to deliver an annual address to the Federal Assembly, Russia’s parliament, before the end of 2026. “No, it is not planned,” he said. Putin’s last such address was in February 2024.
Putin told US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on 21 October that Moscow was ready to resume three-way talks with the United States and Ukraine, and Ushakov said Abu Dhabi was being considered as the venue, Moskva 24 reported.
See also: Kremlin says Abu Dhabi talks will start as Russia-US-Ukraine only.
Sources
- Песков: Россия поддержит переговорщика от ЕС по Украине при стремлении к миру · Moskva 24 (citing TASS)
- Речи о визите Трампа в Москву сейчас нет, заявил Песков · Vesti (citing RIA Novosti)
- Песков: оглашения послания Федеральному собранию в 2026 году не планируется · RIA Novosti
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