No talks underway on possible energy truce with Ukraine, Russia says

“There are no substantive talks underway,” Peskov said.

Earlier, news agency RBC-Ukraine, citing sources, reported that Ukraine and Russia could reach a limited truce this winter, including a mutual pause in strikes on energy infrastructure.

According to the report, Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov were also said to be working on the issue together with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

The source cited by the outlet said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is no longer surrounded only by people who support prolonging the war.

At the same time, the source stressed that no major diplomatic breakthrough should be expected in the near future.

According to that account, after Russia’s elections a summit involving some European countries could become possible, with a meeting likely hosted by one of the Gulf states.

“Obviously, by winter or for winter there is at least the possibility of a limited truce, for example without mutual strikes on energy facilities,” the source said. “And then further opportunities for settlement may arise.”

In an interview with Axios on Sept. 7, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine plans to use September and October to restart the diplomatic process aimed at ending Russia’s war against Ukraine.

He said one possible venue for new talks with the United States could be the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

Two days earlier, Trump’s envoys had already held talks in both Moscow and Kyiv. On Sept. 5, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Putin in Russia, and the next day they traveled to Ukraine for the first time to take part in discussions on ending the war.

On Sept. 8, after those visits to Moscow and Kyiv, President Donald Trump held a phone call with Putin. During the conversation, Trump pressed for a swift end to the war Russia launched against Ukraine.