Movement at meetings: Americans came to hear Russia's position

The negotiation marathon on Ukraine, launched in Davos, continued in Moscow. Steve Witkoff went to meet with Vladimir Putin again to discuss the details of the settlement. Before that, the American negotiators listened to the Ukrainian side, and Vladimir Zelensky still managed to cross paths with Donald Trump at the forum. At the same time, experts consider this to be rather an accident, and the density of meetings to discuss the crisis does not indicate a breakthrough in its resolution, the Federation Council told Izvestia. Nevertheless, immediately after the reception in the Kremlin, trilateral talks are expected in the UAE with the participation of Russia, Ukraine and the United States, but at a technical level. What is the main obstacle to a settlement and what else is on the agenda of the meeting of the Americans with the President of the Russian Federation — in the material of Izvestia.

Meeting of Putin and Witkoff in the Kremlin

The Ukrainian settlement has received another boost in recent days. The public clashes between the United States and the EU over Greenland, as well as Donald Trump's thundering initiative to create a "Peace Council", of course, captured the information space for a while, but the Ukrainian conflict still came to the fore. And the World Economic Forum in Davos, which is already coming to an end, turned out to be not only a platform for high-profile speeches, but also a convenient "hub" for holding a series of meetings on Ukrainian topics.

It is probably no coincidence that Washington sent its most impressive delegation to Switzerland in the history of the forum. In addition to key ministers, it already includes regulars of the negotiations in recent months — special envoy of the US President Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. It was from there that the main American negotiators went to the Russian capital to meet with Vladimir Putin. It began late in the evening on January 22.

Immediately after the meeting in Moscow, a "meeting" in the UAE is expected. According to Vladimir Zelensky, two-day talks will be held there with the participation of Russia, Ukraine and the United States, but at a technical level. At the same time, official Kiev will be represented almost in full: the new head of the office of the Ukrainian president Kirill Budanov (included by Rosfinmonitoring in the list of persons involved in terrorism and extremism), his first deputy Sergey Kislitsa, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, head of the Servant of the People faction David Arakhamia and, as reported, the head of the General Staff Andrei Gnatov. According to Axios, the United States will be the same, but the Russian Federation will be represented by Kirill Dmitriev, the president's special representative for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, and the "head of military intelligence."

At the same time, such a density of meetings on Ukrainian issues, first in Davos and then in the UAE, does not yet indicate any significant progress in the settlement, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Grigory Karasin told Izvestia.

— No way. This "political figure," Zelensky, will continue to intrigue until the last minute of his political career, and maybe even his life. Therefore, all his statements about Europe being disarmed in the face of Russia, and so on, everything will continue, there will be no end. I personally don't believe in this, so there needs to be a strict dictate. It's important that the conversation was positive. It is also important that Washington's representatives arrived in Moscow after that," the senator said.

However, not only the Ukrainian settlement is on the agenda of the meeting in the Kremlin. Even before that, Vladimir Putin received Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Moscow is currently considering participating in the "Peace Council," Trump's initiative to govern the Gaza Strip. To do this, you need to make a contribution: the President of the Russian Federation has already offered to do this at the expense of Russian funds frozen in the United States. The Russian leader decided to discuss this idea immediately and directly with the American president's confidants. The Federation Council considers the idea of creating a "Peace Council" to be, on the whole, a good one.

— But, like any idea, it needs to clarify all the details. Without that, she's just a poster on the wall. Moreover, we have the UN — this has been mentioned repeatedly in the comments of our Foreign Ministry. And we must still respect the agreements that were created 80 years ago by the victorious countries in the Second World War. But the very idea of creating a team that can positively influence the international situation, be it the Gaza Strip or the crisis in Ukraine, is not bad. This needs to be discussed," Karasin concluded.

The topic of Ukraine at the Davos Forum

The meeting of the US delegation with Vladimir Putin became known a few days ago. Against this background, the Americans held several contacts at different levels in Davos in advance. Given the possible negotiations in the UAE, five targeted meetings fell within just four days — and these are just the ones that are publicly known.

First, Witkoff talked with Kirill Dmitriev. There are almost no details, but both commented on the results in a rather positive way. According to Dmitriev, more and more people are realizing the correctness of Moscow's position. The media claim that in January, the Americans handed him the final version of the peace plan for consideration by Vladimir Putin.

A little more details are known about the meeting with the Ukrainian delegation. According to Umerov, the parties discussed "economic development, post-war reconstruction and security guarantees." By the way, it was the issue of rebuilding the country that almost disrupted US-Ukrainian contacts at the highest level.

Vladimir Zelensky initially refused to go to Davos due to the fact that the focus of the world community, by the way, through the efforts of Kiev's European allies, had shifted from Ukraine to Greenland. In addition, security guarantees and a "prosperity plan" — an agreement with the United States and the EU to raise funds through grants, private contributions, and equity - were allegedly not agreed upon. According to it, Ukraine expects at least $ 500 billion. At the same time, according to a number of Western media reports, the deal on this plan was completely disrupted because the American delegation first wanted to hear Moscow's opinion.

However, at the last moment, the plane of the Ukrainian leader nevertheless rushed to Switzerland. However, the talks between Trump and Zelensky on January 22 lasted less than an hour, and instead of a joint statement, the US president's loud but at the same time obligatory reservation followed: "This war must end."

— The meeting was not planned at all. Initially, the Americans also said that it was not planned in Davos. And Zelensky himself stated that he needed to be close to his people, who were allegedly freezing without electricity and so on. So it can be perceived almost as an accident. I absolutely do not think that the Americans need to coordinate their position with Zelensky," Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the Russian president, told Izvestia.

Anyway, speaking earlier at the forum, the head of the White House confidently stated that both Putin and Zelensky want to make a deal. Witkoff said exactly the same thing before flying to Moscow and gave a fairly optimistic assessment of the settlement process. According to the special envoy, 90% of the work has been completed, and in general it all came down to just one question. "We have already discussed various options for its solution, which means that it is being solved," he said. Obviously, we are talking about territories.

— We saw in Davos Trump's unwillingness to play along with Zelensky. Impressed by his recent successes, he is trying to boost his efforts on the Ukrainian track. However, the outcome of the negotiations in the UAE is not yet obvious. Apparently, indeed, a lot rests on the territorial issue," says Oleg Karpovich, Vice—rector of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Actions by the United States could force Kiev to make territorial concessions, says Bogdan Bezpalko.

— For example, the termination of financing, the transfer of intelligence and satellite data, target setting for some weapons systems, for example, for the Hymars MLRS, and so on. At least that's a start. But it is obvious that Zelensky is hinted at the need to conclude a peace agreement," the political scientist said.

There are still a lot of details to clarify, and serious work awaits the diplomats ahead. And its outcome, one way or another, will be the fulfillment of Russian conditions, Oleg Karpovich is sure.