MOSCOW

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that "the political members of the negotiating group" are on the way to the US, where they are expected to meet with American representatives regarding the resumption of peace talks with Russia.

In a statement on Telegram, Zelenskyy said he discussed Kyiv's position with the leading members of the team, including head of Defense and Security Council Rustem Umerov, head of Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov, and lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia, earlier in the day.

He added that Kyiv reached "concrete understandings" on new security deals with the states of the Persian Gulf.

Zelenskyy also said Umerov was "in the key capitals of the Gulf region and has already reported on the results today."

"There is an understanding of what new security agreements can be reached with countries in the region. There are concrete areas in which they can support us, Ukraine, support our defense – above all, air defense – and there are areas in which we can support them, and are already doing so," he said.

Ukrainians are already working in some countries, helping them to counter drone attacks, he noted.

"It is also important that we have received signals from the US side indicating readiness to continue working within the existing negotiation formats to bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. There has been a pause in the talks, and it is time to resume them," he said.

Zelenskyy added: "The Ukrainian team – the political members of the negotiating group – is already on the way, and we expect a meeting this Saturday in the United States."

Russia and Ukraine have had several rounds of US-mediated peace talks this year. The process was interrupted by the crisis in the Middle East.