Peskov Agrees With Rubio That the Ukraine War Is Stalemated, Then Invites Trump’s Envoys Back to Moscow

On Thursday 8 October, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a news conference in Lisbon that the war in Ukraine “seems to be at a stalemate.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about it in Turkmenistan and answered: “Yes, we agree with him.” On Friday, with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner sitting down in Miami with a Ukrainian delegation, Peskov said the two envoys are “always welcome in Moscow.”

Each of the three statements answers the one before it. Kyiv rejected the first, Moscow endorsed it, and Washington sent its negotiators to table a plan whose reported centrepiece, a partial ceasefire, the Kremlin has already said it does not want.

Rubio called the war a stalemate on 8 October, and Peskov agreed the same day. Zelensky said Ukraine is “not at a diplomatic dead end.” The US proposal under discussion in Miami is reported to be a partial ceasefire on energy and grain shipments, while Peskov says Russia is “for a comprehensive solution.” A Putin and Trump phone call is expected “soon,” and a Witkoff and Kushner trip to Moscow in October is possible but unconfirmed.

Rubio spoke in Lisbon on 8 October, TASS reported. “This is a very dangerous war,” he said. “It’s an extremely dangerous war because, frankly, right now it seems to be at a stalemate.” Stalemates, he added, “only end one of two ways”: a negotiated settlement, or escalation by one or both sides that could widen the war.

Zelensky answered the same day at a press conference in Pryluky with British minister Ed Miliband. “We are not at a diplomatic dead end,” he said, according to DPA. Kyiv Post reported that he confirmed Kyiv is discussing a possible energy and grain ceasefire with Washington, and that he did not want to describe it in advance because Russia, as always, would do the opposite.

Peskov spoke on the sidelines of a leaders’ meeting of former Soviet states in Turkmenistan. Asked about Rubio’s assessment, he said: “Yes, we agree with him,” Reuters reported. “The art of diplomacy precisely involves finding some way out that would allow moving onto a peaceful track,” he added. On the shape of a deal he was explicit: “We are not for a fragmented solution, we are for a comprehensive solution that will allow for sustainable settlement.” Reuters wrote that Moscow is not interested in temporary measures such as a limited ceasefire and sees no immediate prospect of a three-way summit with Zelensky and Trump.

Axios, relayed by Kyiv Post, described Washington’s side. Witkoff and Kushner briefed Trump on Thursday, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and deputy national security adviser Mike Needham present. The Ukrainian delegation in Miami includes presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, security council secretary Rustem Umerov and parliamentary faction leader Davyd Arakhamia, per Kyiv Post. The agenda reportedly covers a partial ceasefire on energy infrastructure and Black Sea grain shipments, security guarantees and a post-war recovery plan. “They are all nervous about the winter,” a US source told Axios. “It will be a tough winter if the war does not stop.” An unnamed Ukrainian official told Axios that the US midterms and Russia’s interest in sanctions relief could push Putin toward a pause.

On Friday Peskov spoke again, in Turkmenbashi, and TASS carried his words. “They are always welcome in Moscow. The president is always glad to meet with them,” he said of Witkoff and Kushner. “We know that they are holding talks with the Ukrainians in the United States today. There allegedly are some comprehensive plans and ideas for a settlement.” He told reporters that if those plans were indeed discussed in Miami, the envoys could come to Moscow. Asked whether a visit could happen in October, he said, in a separate TASS report: “It can be expected. But we don’t know whether it will take place within this timeframe.” A Putin and Trump phone call, he said, can be expected “soon.” Of the CIS leaders’ meeting he said: “No, the topic of the special military operation was not raised today.”

The Miami talks are scheduled for two days, into Saturday 10 October, Axios reported through Kyiv Post. Their outcome decides what the envoys carry to Moscow, and whether Washington still calls the package a partial ceasefire or something larger.

The Putin and Trump call is the next marker. Peskov gave no date and said only “soon.” A Kremlin readout that mentions an energy ceasefire would mean Moscow has moved off “fragmented.” A readout that mentions only a settlement would mean it has not.

Peskov’s own condition on the Moscow trip is the third. He tied the invitation to the results of the Miami talks, and he said Moscow does not know whether the visit will fall in October. Moscow and Washington share a diagnosis and have not yet shared a remedy. Until a Kremlin readout says otherwise, the expectation is more contacts and no truce.