Skip to main content

Zelensky says the Trump administration proposes a halt to energy strikes, a Black Sea grain corridor, and three-way talks with Russia

Source: Axios

The Trump administration is pressing for three immediate steps to de-escalate the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios.

First, the U.S. has proposed that Moscow and Kyiv agree to a mutual halt to strikes on energy infrastructure.

Washington is also seeking to reopen the Black Sea grain corridor and hold trilateral talks involving the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine.

Axios said Abu Dhabi was a possible venue for the talks. Kyiv is ready to accept Abu Dhabi as a venue. “We are open — any country, any format,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky said the G20 summit in Miami this December could also be a venue for a trilateral meeting. He and Donald Trump discussed that possibility. Zelensky said he still doubts Vladimir Putin is willing to negotiate and believes Putin “could find reasons” to avoid a meeting of the three countries’ leaders.

A source familiar with the matter told Axios that Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev will arrive in New York on September 24 to meet with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about the latest U.S. proposals.

The Ukrainian outlet ZN.UA said, citing diplomatic sources, that a trilateral meeting is being arranged in New York between Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, and U.S. and Russian special envoys Steve Witkoff and Kirill Dmitriev. Russia denies the report.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].

To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.