ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in remarks published on Wednesday that a new and third round of peace talks between his country and Russia is expected to take place next week.

In a phone interview with Bloomberg News on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said that the new round of talks is “slated for Tuesday or Wednesday,” though the report noted it is “unclear whether Russia would agree to talks in the US.”

According to the report, a US proposal to set up a free economic zone in the Donbas region as a buffer between Russia and Ukraine will be on the agenda of the expected talks, but Zelenskyy said both Moscow and Kyiv view the proposal with skepticism.

“None of the sides is keen on the idea of the free economic zone — neither the Russians, nor us,” the Ukrainian president was quoted as saying.

“We have different views on it. And agreements were as follows — let’s come back with the vision of what it may look like for the next meeting,” he added.

The remarks come amid two rounds of trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the US in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, held on Jan. 23-24 and Feb. 4-5, respectively. Following the latter, Russia and Ukraine held their first prisoner exchange since October last year.

Speaking about the negotiations in Abu Dhabi, Zelenskyy told journalists last week that the US has proposed to host a meeting between Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams for the first time, specifying that this meeting will take place “probably in Miami, in a week.”

While Zelenskyy confirmed the Ukrainian side will attend the proposed talks, the Kremlin said on Friday there are no plans to hold negotiations on a Ukrainian settlement in the US, but acknowledged that a new round of talks will take place “soon.”

Moscow has consistently called for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas, whereas Kyiv has defended the position that troops remain in place along the front line in Ukraine.

Russian authorities have not yet commented on Zelenskyy’s latest remarks.