Moscow is hoping to achieve “some progress” at talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday, a Russian negotiator told state media some 48 hours before the United States meets delegations from both Ukraine and Russia in a bid to halt the three-year conflict.
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Moscow has rejected a joint US-Ukraine proposal of a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire, instead suggesting just to halt aerial strikes on energy facilities.
Despite that offer, both sides have continued to launch aerial attacks in the run-up to the negotiations.
A Russian strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia late on Friday night killed a family of three, triggering anger among Ukrainian officials.
US negotiators will meet separately with Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia on Monday, in what US envoy Keith Kellogg described as “shuttle diplomacy” between hotel rooms.
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Despite the flurry of diplomacy and push from US President Donald Trump, a breakthrough has so far proved elusive.