Zelensky says Turkey, GCC or EU nations could host Putin talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Turkey, the Gulf States or European countries could host any talks he may hold with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky is pushing for direct talks with Putin to help end Russia’s war in Ukraineb but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said no agenda had been prepared for such a meeting.

“Now, this week there will be contacts with Turkey, contacts with the Gulf States and with European states which could host talks with the Russians,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

“From our side, things will be prepared to the maximum in order to end the war.”

Zelensky spoke as his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said he and Ukraine’s national security council chief were in Qatar to meet that country’s defence minister.

In his comments, Zelensky also said that moving ahead with talks depended on coordination with Ukraine’s partners, primarily the United States, in ensuring that sufficient pressure was exerted on Russia. This, he said, had been discussed on Monday in Kyiv with U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg.

“Everything further depends strictly on the will of world leaders, most importantly the United States of America, to put pressure on Russia,” Zelensky said.

“Russia is only giving signals that it is going to continue to avoid real negotiations. This can only be changed by strong sanctions, strong tariffs - real pressure.”

Ukraine acknowledged for the first time on Tuesday that Russia’s army has entered the Dnipropetrovsk region, a central administrative area previously spared from intense fighting.

“Yes, they have entered, and fighting is ongoing as of now,” Viktor Tregubov, spokesperson for the Dnipro Operational Strategic Group of Forces, told AFP.

Moscow first said its forces had advanced into the region -- which it has not made a formal territorial claim over -- in July. It has since claimed to have captured some settlements there.

In a separate statement, Ukraine’s General Staff rejected Moscow’s claims to have fully captured the villages of Zaporizke and Novogeorgiivka.

But battlefield monitor DeepState, which has close ties to Ukraine’s military, said Tuesday that Russia had “occupied” them.

The Russian army “is now consolidating its positions, and is accumulating infantry for a further advance,” it added in a social media post.

Russian forces are slowly but steadily gaining ground in costly battles for largely devastated areas in eastern and southern Ukraine, normally with few inhabitants or intact buildings left.

Agencies