German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is skeptical about the prospects of the upcoming trilateral talks between Ukraine, the US, and Russia. In his opinion, Russian President Vladimir Putin is not demonstrating a real desire to end the war and is using diplomatic contacts to stall for time.
Pistorius made this assessment on October 26 after a meeting of defense ministers from five European countries in Paris, according to German television channel n-tv.
The head of the German defense ministry said he sees no signs of Moscow's readiness for a ceasefire or the conclusion of a peace agreement. According to him, the Kremlin periodically shows interest in negotiations, but Russia's actual actions contradict such statements.
Pistorius believes that Putin is trying to buy time and expects to use the winter period to increase pressure on Ukraine.
In particular, the minister drew attention to systematic Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy and communal infrastructure. In his assessment, Moscow intends to worsen living conditions for the civilian population by continuing to destroy electricity and water supply facilities.
Against this background, Germany and other European allies intend to continue military support for Ukraine. After the meeting of the defense ministers of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Poland, Pistorius announced the preparation of additional aid packages for the winter period.
European states are paying particular attention to strengthening Ukrainian air defense. Germany, together with partners, is working on an additional air defense system that should complement Ukraine's existing Patriot systems and other weapons.
In addition, Berlin is counting on continued American military support, including equipment supplies, intelligence information, and satellite data.
Meanwhile, Ukraine, the US, and Russia continue preparations for the resumption of trilateral talks. It is expected that the meeting of negotiating delegations will take place in the first half of November in Abu Dhabi.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky named November 6–10 as a possible period for consultations. However, the final date of the meeting has not yet been agreed.
Kyiv hopes to discuss halting strikes on energy infrastructure, prisoner exchanges, measures to reduce the intensity of hostilities, and future security guarantees.
The Russian side has also stated its fundamental readiness to return to the trilateral format, but has not reported agreement on specific ceasefire terms.
As previously reported by “Kurs Ukrainy”, the holding of a new round of consultations depends on the final agreement on timing among the participants.
Thus, Pistorius does not rule out that negotiations will take place, but doubts that Moscow's current stance will allow for significant progress in ending the war.
