Russia sends fresh signal on Ukraine peace talks ahead of Rubio-Lavrov meeting

Russia has reaffirmed its stance on potential Ukraine peace talks ahead of a planned meeting in New York between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, although Russia has remained open to Ukraine peace talks, there are still no grounds for such talks.

"For now, ​there are no prerequisites for moving onto a peaceful ​negotiating track, although we, as the Russian side, remain ⁠open to peace talks," Peskov added.

He also raised the possibility of a Putin-Trump one-on-one meeting if both leaders considered such a meeting necessary. But when it comes to Putin meeting Ukrainian president Volodymy in person, Russia’s position has not yet changed.

For such a possibility of meeting to occur, Zelenskyy would need to come to Moscow, an idea that Kyiv repeatedly rejected as unacceptable while suggesting that such talks should be held in a neutral country.

Speaking about the summit, Peskov added, "Generally speaking, in any other circumstances, it would be inappropriate ⁠to hold ​a summit meeting before the groundwork ​has been laid at expert level, as this would be a waste of time.”

President Zelenskyy met with Trump on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. During the meeting, he announced that he is open to meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in a trilateral summit alongside Donald Trump.

Zelenskyy expressed hope that the US can pressure Moscow back to the negotiating table following the breakdown of peace talks earlier this year. Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine is open to a reciprocal "energy ceasefire." It means Kyiv would stop long-range drone strikes on Russian oil refineries and infrastructure if Moscow stops attacking Ukraine’s power grid and other infrastructure.