Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said no results had been achieved in talks aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. Peskov said Moscow was keeping the option of negotiations open, but that Russia was continuing what it calls a “special military operation.”
Addressing the possibility of restarting trilateral negotiations, Peskov said Russia was ready to return to this format. Peskov said Moscow was continuing its efforts to achieve its military objectives, but added that they nevertheless hoped trilateral talks would resume.
October schedule for Moscow and Kyiv
U.S. representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Moscow on September 5 to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The representatives then traveled to Kyiv on September 6 to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
No agreement or progress was announced after the contacts. U.S. President Donald Trump said Putin wanted an agreement that would end the war and stated that a trilateral meeting involving Putin and Zelenskyy could be held.
As Moscow and Kyiv showed interest in restarting trilateral negotiations, October emerged as a possible timeframe for the talks.
Parliamentary elections in Russia
Peskov alleged that Ukraine had carried out “large-scale attacks” to disrupt the voting process during Russia’s parliamentary elections. Describing the effort as sabotage and an attempt to undermine the elections, Peskov maintained that the electoral process had not been affected.
Russia’s three-day election for the 450-seat State Duma ended on Sunday amid continuing drone attacks from Ukraine.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces had attempted a large-scale attack on Russian territory using drones and Flamingo cruise missiles to disrupt the State Duma elections. The ministry said that within 24 hours, air defense systems and military aviation had destroyed 1,951 drones and eight long-range cruise missiles.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the largest drone attack on the capital to date had been repelled. Sobyanin said more than 1,600 drones had been intercepted, including approximately 450 vehicles approaching Moscow.
This was the first parliamentary election held in Russia since the war began in February 2022. Voting also took place in Ukrainian regions under Russia’s control; Kyiv and many Western governments describe the practice as unlawful.
