Ban on the topic: Ukraine does not show readiness for dialogue with Russia
The United States is discussing options for restarting peace talks on the Ukrainian conflict, but Kiev has not shown any desire to de-escalate with Russia. On July 28, Vladimir Zelensky held talks with Donald Trump and said that the conversation was specifically about a diplomatic settlement. However, in fact, Ukraine is expanding the geography of terrorist attacks and lobbying for more anti-Russian sanctions. The US Senate has previously agreed on a bill on the possibility of imposing 100% trade tariffs on Russian oil buyers. However, the document leaves the White House room for maneuver, and similar attempts to force India and China to abandon oil from the Russian Federation have previously failed. Meanwhile, a new corruption scandal involving the embezzlement of Western aid is developing in Ukraine.
Prospects for the resumption of the peace process in Ukraine
The talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky on July 28 passed as if the American administration had decided not to draw attention to them. For example, the Ukrainian guest was taken to the White House through a side entrance, not through the front door. This was in stark contrast to the reception that the new British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, had given him in London.
After the talks, Zelensky said that a diplomatic settlement of the conflict had been discussed. However, in fact, Ukraine does not demonstrate readiness for dialogue and is trying to expand the geography of its attacks. For example, on July 25, an Iranian merchant ship was hit in the Caspian Sea. At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are intensifying attacks on targets in Russia, which have killed 57 civilians over the past week, the Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier.
"What Ukrainian terrorists are doing in the air, on the ground and, most importantly, against civilians and children is completely at odds with the grace of Zelensky's reasoning about diplomatic initiatives," Grigory Karasin, head of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, told Izvestia.
Zelensky formally went to the United States for the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham (listed in the Russian Federation as an extremist and terrorist), one of Ukraine's main supporters in the American Congress. Before that, the head of the Kiev regime tried to create an information background for negotiations and gave an interview to blogger Laura Loomer, who is close to the MAGA movement. The American media considered this a sign of an improvement in the attitude of Trump and his administration towards Kiev, although other observers suspect that the Ukrainian side may have paid for this interview. However, it doesn't seem to have helped the head of the Kiev regime much. In Washington, only the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Olga Stefanyshina, met him at the plane's ramp, and journalists did not notice representatives of the US administration or at least the guard of honor.
Donald Trump has no plans to give up the role of mediator in the settlement, according to the Wall Street Journal, he is optimistic about finding a compromise. However, American optimism has not yet been converted into anything. At a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Philippines on July 23, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that "new ideas" were needed to achieve a peaceful settlement. Moscow stressed that Russia agreed to a compromise in Anchorage last year, but the United States could not convince or force Kiev to reach an agreement. A major role in this was played by the position of European countries, which increased military assistance to Ukraine.
It is still unclear what kind of "new ideas" Washington is ready to offer. If they take into account the situation on the ground and the advance of Russian troops, Moscow will seriously consider these proposals, Oleg Karpovich, head of the Department of the MGIMO Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia. Russia proceeds from the fact that the general spirit of dialogue is still alive. However, Washington's assistance to Kiev with intelligence and weapons raises questions, as well as new upcoming sanctions against Russia.
Corruption in Ukraine and the bill on sanctions
Meanwhile, on July 28, US senators preliminarily agreed on a draft law on new sanctions against Russia. It was developed by Lindsey Graham, and is now being promoted by his sister Darlene. The final vote on the document is scheduled to be held in the upper house before the end of the week. However, he will then have to get approval in the House of Representatives, which will return to work in September. Donald Trump himself promised to sign it if the Senate votes in favor.
The main provision of the new bill is that the President of the United States has the right to impose customs duties of up to 100% against the largest oil buyers from the Russian Federation. However, the White House had already threatened to use them last year, said Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State University. But attempts to force India and China to abandon Russian resources then ended in failure.
The document also proposes restrictions against Sberbank and Gazprombank, the largest Russian energy projects, in particular Yamal LNG, three Arctic LNG projects and future energy projects of the Russian Federation in the Arctic. However, the US Treasury can extend temporary permits for operations for months, as, for example, it happens with the Serbian company NiS. And in the spring, the US Treasury issued a general license that temporarily exempted part of operations with Russian oil and petroleum products from US sanctions. Washington did this to prevent prices from rising amid the conflict in the Middle East. In other words, the implementation of the measures proposed in the bill will largely depend not on hawks in Congress, but on the Trump administration.
Zelensky's visit to the United States comes amid growing domestic problems. On the eve of the talks, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office suspected former Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Alexander Bankov and his assistants of embezzling $ 1.2 million, which Western countries sent to help the country.
In addition, in mid-July, unrest began in Kiev over Zelensky's dismissal of Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov. Under pressure from the protesters, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was replaced — Mikhail Drapaty became the new commander-in-chief, who immediately noted Russophobic statements. Thanks to his resignation, Fedorov has dramatically increased his popularity — 65% of Ukrainians polled trust him, while 59% trust Zelensky. The former defense minister is now widely considered as a candidate for the presidency of Ukraine.
Corruption scandals in Ukraine's top leadership had previously led to the resignation of the head of the president's office, Andriy Ermak, and the flight of Vladimir Zelensky's partner, Timur Mindich. However, Western countries are well aware of corruption in Ukraine and often simply turn a blind eye to such facts, considering them to be forced losses in the framework of the confrontation with Russia, political analyst Denis Denisov told Izvestia. According to him, corruption in Ukraine is perceived as an integral part of the management structure, so no one will fight it completely, fearing to unbalance the entire system.
However, such scandals may slow down the creation of Patriot systems in Ukraine, which Zelensky also discussed with Trump. Earlier, the American leader agreed to provide the appropriate license, but launching the creation of such systems requires time and resources. Western media admit that the first samples may arrive in the Ukrainian troops only at the end of next year.
The talks between Zelensky and Trump at the White House indicate that the United States has begun to propose new ideas for resolving the conflict. According to US media reports, Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and businessman Jared Kushner may come to Kiev for more detailed talks, and their visit to Moscow is also possible in the next two weeks. Russia has not refused to engage in dialogue, but now, obviously, it will be even more attentive to the proposed agreements.
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