President Volodymyr Zelensky has set out the issues Ukraine wants addressed in planned technical talks involving Ukrainian, Russian and United States representatives, saying the process must produce concrete results before any meeting of national leaders.
In an interview on 25 October, Zelensky said Ukraine was ready for a trilateral meeting between the three countries’ technical groups, with talks expected in early November. He presented the process as a route towards a possible meeting of leaders, rather than as a completed agreement. The timing, format and outcome of the discussions remain dependent on the positions of all sides.
Security guarantees would be central to any settlement, Zelensky said. He maintained that such guarantees must be determined by Ukraine and its partners, not dictated by Russia. He also said restrictions on Ukraine’s armed forces and a requirement for the country to be neutral were not matters Ukraine was prepared to treat as negotiable terms. His position is a stated Ukrainian condition for talks, not an indication that the other participants have accepted it.
Zelensky drew a line between questions that could be prepared by technical teams and those he said should be reserved for leaders. Territorial questions, he said, belong at leader level. Other issues could be taken up by the negotiating groups first. No territorial arrangement was announced, and a leaders’ meeting remains a potential next stage rather than a confirmed event.
He identified an energy ceasefire, protection for grain shipments in the Black Sea and prisoner exchanges as practical subjects for discussion. Those items describe an agenda Ukraine is prepared to put forward. They do not amount to an agreed ceasefire, a new shipping arrangement or a completed exchange. Any progress on them would require participation and agreement from the parties to the planned talks.
The proposal places immediate emphasis on measures that could affect daily life while wider political questions remain unresolved. A pause affecting energy infrastructure could reduce a particular area of confrontation if agreed and observed. Protecting grain movements would require a workable arrangement for vessels in the Black Sea. Prisoner exchanges would similarly need decisions and practical coordination by the sides involved. None of those outcomes has been confirmed.
In the same interview, Zelensky said a planned pause affecting Russian-occupied Oleshky would need to last several days and require Russian assistance. He presented it as a possible condition for evacuations. That pause has not been agreed or put into effect.
Zelensky also said that any long-term security structure should leave Ukraine able to maintain a strong military. He said the role of NATO in Ukraine’s future security would arise in negotiations, and argued that support from European countries and the United States would be needed if membership were not possible. These are Ukraine’s stated position, not commitments publicly announced by other governments.
The planned technical format has a narrower purpose than a final peace settlement: to test whether the parties can identify deliverable steps and prepare issues for leaders. Zelensky said the talks should demonstrate whether there is a serious basis for moving forward. For now, the proposals remain positions set out ahead of discussions, with no settlement, ceasefire or leaders’ meeting agreed.
