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- In the progress of the dialogue: Russia is ready to discuss the proposals of Witkoff and Kushner
In the progress of the dialogue: Russia is ready to discuss the proposals of Witkoff and Kushner
Russia and the United States may resume active contacts on Ukraine in the near future. Moscow is ready to receive special envoys of the American President Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for new negotiations, there are no obstacles to this, the head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Grigory Karasin told Izvestia. The main topic of a possible meeting may be new proposals that Kiev has submitted to Washington. However, the exact dates of the American negotiators' trip to Russia have not yet been agreed, and the US Embassy in Moscow said they had no information about this visit yet.
Witkoff and Kushner visit to Moscow
Russia is expecting a new visit by the special envoy of the US President, Steve Witkoff, and the son-in-law of the American leader, Jared Kushner. And hypothetically, a possible new round of contacts already has a subject for discussion. On August 11, Vladimir Zelensky said that Kiev had conveyed to the American side its proposals for ending the conflict, without disclosing their contents.
However, Russia is already open to any discussions, Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, told Izvestia.
— Russia is always ready to discuss if there is a practical interest in the real results of the other side. We are always ready for meetings and negotiations. Therefore, this applies to both Kushner and Witkoff. I do not see any obstacles to holding such a meeting, regardless of what Zelensky has contributed or what he has not contributed," the senator stressed.
At the same time, the dialogue between Moscow and Washington is not limited only to the Ukrainian settlement, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes of the Kiev regime, said in a conversation with Izvestia. According to him, a wide range of issues of mutual interest remain between the countries, and reciprocal steps by the parties can increase the chances of reaching agreements.
"When a normal dialogue is established and the parties meet each other halfway, then, probably, the chances of reaching some mutually acceptable and understandable agreements increase," he added.
The possible arrival of American negotiators in Moscow has been discussed for several weeks. On July 28, a TASS source allowed for a visit by Witkoff and Kushner to Russia in the coming weeks, while noting that there were no specific dates yet. However, the American side has not yet confirmed the preparation of a specific trip.
"Unfortunately, at the moment we have no information about the visit that we could share," the US Embassy in Russia told Izvestia.
The last time Witkoff and Kushner were in Moscow was on January 22. Then the American representatives held an hour-long meeting with Vladimir Putin. After that, Russia, Ukraine and the United States held several rounds of talks in Abu Dhabi and Geneva. In February, the parties managed, in particular, to agree on the exchange of 314 prisoners of war, but the negotiations did not bring a significant breakthrough on the political part of the settlement.
In the spring, the activity of American mediators in the Ukrainian direction actually came to naught due to the conflict in the Middle East. On June 24, the Kremlin said it expected to resume contacts with the United States on Ukraine when Witkoff and Kushner would be able to focus on this area again. So far, uncertainty remains around the conflict with Iran, which makes it impossible to accurately predict when the trip will take place.
The impact of US sanctions on negotiations
At the same time, a possible visit by Witkoff and Kushner already has a political background. On August 7, the U.S. Senate approved a new package of restrictions against Russia and Iran called "Hellish Sanctions." Now the bill must be considered by the House of Representatives, which returns after the summer holidays on August 31.
The document gives the US president the opportunity to impose duties of up to 100% against the largest buyers of Russian oil and gas. The restrictions may affect the five largest importers of Russian energy resources and countries that Washington considers to be helping to circumvent sanctions. At the same time, their application will remain largely at the discretion of the president himself.
The current bill is noticeably softer than the one discussed a year ago, recalled HSE analyst Egor Toropov. At that time, there was strong support in the Senate for the initiative to impose tariffs of up to 500% against Russia and its trading partners, with a bipartisan majority potentially allowing a presidential veto to be overcome.
In the current version of the bill, the maximum amount of tariffs has been reduced to 100%, and the mechanism itself, according to the expert, is legally more convenient for use by the US president at his own discretion. Even if Washington does introduce new trade restrictions against Russia, they will not be as effective. At the same time, the threat of new sanctions is primarily needed by Trump to intensify negotiations.
However, sanctions pressure is not the main obstacle to dialogue. The main problem remains the disagreement between Moscow and Kiev on the terms of the cessation of hostilities. Russia insists on the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territory of Donbass to begin a full-fledged peaceful settlement. Ukraine, on the contrary, proposes to first cease fire on the current line of contact and only after that proceed to further negotiations on the parameters of a peace agreement.
If Washington can get real concessions from Kiev, then negotiations with Witkoff and Kushner will bring tangible results. For example, Russia and Ukraine will be able to return to direct contacts on the territory of a third country. Otherwise, the conflict will continue without any prospects for a diplomatic settlement.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
