- Статьи
- World
- Not a breakthrough, but: will Russia and Ukraine return to negotiations with the help of the United States
Not a breakthrough, but: will Russia and Ukraine return to negotiations with the help of the United States
Special envoys of the US President Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow and Kiev after a long break. In the Kremlin, they discussed Washington's peace proposals with Vladimir Putin for more than three hours, after which they continued consultations with Zelensky. Kiev is now preparing for the winter campaign, but American negotiators expect to make progress before the onset of cold weather. In Europe, the results of this mission are still being assessed cautiously due to deep disagreements between the parties. Nevertheless, individual EU countries should look for ways to restore dialogue with Moscow, the European Parliament told Izvestia.
Witkoff and Kushner visited Moscow and Kiev
Special Envoy of the US President Steve Witkoff and the son—in-law of the American leader Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on August 5, their first visit to Russia in the last seven months. Before that, they talked with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on January 22. The current meeting dragged on for more than three hours. On the Russian side, Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov and Special Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation, Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev participated in the negotiations.
Meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, September 5
Even before the trip, Donald Trump told reporters that Washington has "ideas for peace." Following the meeting, Yuri Ushakov confirmed that Witkoff and Kushner had voiced "a number of considerations" about a possible way out of the crisis. However, the details of the American plan are still unknown.
Vladimir Putin outlined Moscow's position to the delegation. According to Yuri Ushakov, the President stressed that the root causes of the conflict must be eliminated for a settlement. In addition, the meeting could discuss the agreements reached by Russia and the United States at last year's summit in Anchorage — the Kremlin confirmed that elements of these agreements remain on the negotiating agenda.
— Indeed, certain understandings have been reached in Anchorage. It is difficult to say now how applicable they are, both from the point of view of the Ukrainian side and from the point of view of the American side. But at least some elements of these understandings will always be on the agenda," said Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president's press secretary.
Jared Kushner, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff during a joint press conference in Kiev.
The next day, on September 6, the American envoys arrived in Kiev. This is their first trip to Ukraine since the beginning of the mediation mission. Earlier, other emissaries of Donald Trump visited the Ukrainian capital — for example, last November, US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll visited Kiev.
In Kiev, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks with Zelensky, after which the national security advisers of Great Britain, France and Germany joined the consultations. The U.S. representatives called the meeting informative and expressed hope for further progress. According to media reports, the emissaries now intend to finalize the updated peace plan together with the allies and expect to achieve a breakthrough before the onset of winter.
Jared Kushner also said that Donald Trump had instructed to prepare a package of documents for concluding a peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev. According to him, in the future, Washington expects to return negotiations to the Russia—USA—Ukraine trilateral format.
Zelensky said that Kiev is considering another scenario — the continuation of hostilities. He called on the partners to form a winter assistance package, including additional supplies of American LNG. He also again ruled out abandoning Donbass for the sake of peace. The territorial issue remains a key disagreement between the parties: Moscow insists on the complete withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from four new regions.
The most concrete result of the negotiations at the moment was the temporary abandonment of strikes on the capitals. Vladimir Putin ordered to stop attacks on facilities in Kiev for three days. Zelensky, for his part, said that Ukraine would refrain from trying to attack Moscow by the end of Monday.
The very fact of resuming contacts after a long break is already a positive signal, says political analyst Andrei Kortunov. In his opinion, the length of the dialogue indicates its content: if Moscow and Washington had simply repeated previous theses, a three-hour meeting in the Kremlin would not have been required.
Official Washington shares this assessment and confirms its readiness for further dialogue. A White House official told the American media that the parties had already discussed concrete steps that could be announced in the coming weeks. Yuri Ushakov, for his part, confirmed that this communication channel will continue to work.
Bilateral relations were also touched upon during the talks: the interlocutors discussed in detail the prospects for major economic projects. According to media reports, a representative of the US Treasury Department, Gene Lang, who oversees sanctions policy, also came to Moscow. He participated in preliminary consultations with Kirill Dmitriev, but he was not present at the meeting with Vladimir Putin.
At the same time, the sustainability of any agreements mediated by Donald Trump remains questionable. The upcoming US Congressional elections may seriously adjust the American course towards Russia and Ukraine, according to Ivan Loshkarev, associate professor of the MGIMO Department of Political Theory.
Can Russia and Ukraine come to an agreement
The trip of the American envoys was positively assessed in the EU. A day before Witkoff and Kushner's visit to Moscow, the European Commission stressed that it supports any diplomatic efforts to achieve a "just and sustainable peace."
However, despite calls from Europe to resume direct dialogue with Moscow, Brussels has not yet taken real action. The EU countries are split on this issue: many believe that it is not yet time for contacts and that it is necessary to increase pressure on Russia first. At the same time, individual European states should join the dialogue on their own, Ivan David, a member of the European Parliament from the Czech Republic, told Izvestia.
— It would be useful for them. We will see how the German elections will be held, then the French presidential elections. I think the current policy will not continue. We need to find some way to new ties with Russia," he said.
Meeting of the "coalition of the willing" in Kiev, August 24
However, the strategy of Kiev's key European allies has not changed. At a meeting on August 24, the "coalition of the willing" again demanded a cease-fire along the line of contact, promising to increase military assistance to Ukraine and tighten sanctions against Russia until then.
The EU is currently preparing the 22nd package of restrictions. As stated by the head of European diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, the largest expansion of blacklists since the beginning of the conflict is expected: the number of individuals and companies under sanctions is planned to increase by about a third.
In the near future, European countries will remain outside the main negotiation process, political analyst Evgeny Mikhailov believes. If Washington makes progress in the dialogue between Moscow and Kiev, the EU will have to adapt to the situation — even if its own course on Ukraine does not change.
Russian President Vladimir Putin during his approach to the press following the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, September 2
At the same time, Vladimir Putin emphasizes that Moscow does not abandon dialogue with Europe. Speaking at a press conference in Bishkek on September 2, he said: Russia does not seek to freeze the conflict, but to "lasting, absolute peace" in Ukraine and Europe, therefore it is open to negotiations with all who are interested in it. The next day, the president added that mediation could be useful, but the final word would remain with the participants in the confrontation.
— But still, in the end, first of all, this problem must be solved by the countries involved in the conflict. These are Russia and Ukraine. This is the right approach. But we are grateful to everyone who is trying to contribute to the settlement of this issue," he said.
The very fact of starting a dialogue is certainly a positive signal, but the sustainability of the process depends on external factors. Washington can turn its attention to the escalating Iranian crisis at any moment. At the same time, Brussels and individual European capitals can take a destructive position. In the meantime, they continue to pump Ukraine with weapons and completely refuse to criticize Zelensky, even against the background of his threats to close the airspace over the Russian Federation to civil aviation. Whether this round of diplomacy will be continued will become known in the coming weeks. But for now, the American mission should be considered only the restoration of communication channels, and not a breakthrough in the settlement.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
