In an interview with Axios, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Kyiv intends to step up its diplomatic efforts in the autumn and use the next two months to bring the negotiation process back into an active phase. According to him, the Ukrainian side has “September and October to find any way to dialogue,” and he called the resumption of contacts a necessary condition for achieving any result: “Without dialogue… we will not have a result.”

A Diplomatic Push in Autumn

As the statement indicates, the Ukrainian side is viewing the coming weeks as a window of opportunity to restart the diplomatic track. Zelensky emphasized that the goal is not merely formal contacts, but moving to a working format that will allow progress toward concrete agreements. That is why, in his assessment, the effectiveness of any process remains in question without the restoration of dialogue.

The UN General Assembly as a Negotiation Venue

As a possible location for further talks between Ukraine and the United States, the president proposed the UN General Assembly in New York, which, he said, will take place at the end of September. Thus, the UN’s international venue is being considered by Kyiv as one of the options for continuing contacts with the American side and finding an acceptable negotiation format against the backdrop of the tight autumn time frame.

The Trilateral Format and Washington’s Role

Zelensky also spoke of the possibility of holding a new trilateral round of negotiations involving Ukraine, the US, and Russia, but noted that no final decision has yet been made on such a meeting and that the parties still need to determine the subsequent format. At the same time, he expressed hope that US President Donald Trump could help launch the negotiation process in earnest “before the cold winter arrives.”

Contradictory Data

On the eve of Zelensky’s statement, US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow and Kyiv to facilitate dialogue on ending the Russian-Ukrainian war. Following the visits, the American side announced “significant progress,” including the agreement on a schedule for additional trilateral negotiations, and pointed to Russia’s readiness to negotiate. Meanwhile, Zelensky, according to reports from several outlets, explained why he does not yet share the optimism about the Russian side’s readiness, creating a discrepancy between Washington’s assessment and Kyiv’s position on the parties’ actual readiness for a working format.

Thus, the autumn diplomatic cycle that Ukraine wants to launch in September–October will depend on whether the parties can overcome the discrepancy in their assessments of progress and agree on a specific format — whether bilateral contacts at the UN venue or a trilateral round involving Russia.