Counter complication: Kiev's threats may be an attempt to influence contacts between Russia and the United States

American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will try to revive the negotiation process on the Ukrainian settlement. The visit of the American delegation to Moscow and Kiev is expected on September 5-6, Vladimir Zelensky confirmed. They will visit Russia first, and then Ukraine. At the same time, the threats of the head of the Kiev regime to Russian civil aviation may be part of attempts to influence the negotiation process and disrupt contacts between Moscow and Washington, the Foreign Ministry told Izvestia. Experts believe that in the capital of the Russian Federation, the Americans can clarify the conditions of the Russian side and then discuss them with Kiev, but it is still difficult to count on a quick compromise.

Witkoff and Kushner will arrive in Moscow and Kiev

Special Representative of the President of the United States Steve Witkoff and son-in-law of the American leader Jared Kushner will visit Moscow and Kiev on September 5-6. At first, this information appeared in the media. "I would not announce anything. But when these contacts take place, we will inform you," Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president's press secretary, told reporters. Later, Vladimir Zelensky confirmed the visit of the American negotiators. He also promised to ensure the "normal functioning of Russian airspace" for the visit of Trump's representatives.

The US Embassy did not comment on the visit to Izvestia. For Witkoff and Kushner, this may be the first trip to Kiev during the Ukrainian conflict. Currently, the negotiation process on the settlement, as Vladimir Putin announced this week, is actually frozen. At the same time, Vladimir Zelensky has recently tried several times to raise the stakes in the conflict.

Special Envoy of the President of the United States Stephen Witkoff and son-in-law of the President of the United States Jared Kushner

Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexander Kazakov

On June 25, he announced the start of a 40-day "operation of influence", instructing the Security Service of Ukraine to launch massive strikes on oil refineries and infrastructure in the Russian Federation. On September 1, Zelensky threatened to close the Russian skies to civil aviation. Such statements by the Ukrainian side may be dictated by attempts by Kiev and its European partners to disrupt any Russian-American negotiations or at least create a negative background ahead of the meeting.

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— There is an inescapable desire, first of all by the Europeans, to disrupt any contacts between Russia and the United States. For Europe and for Zelensky as the interface of European efforts, the very contacts and the very dialogue between Washington and Moscow are an irritating factor," Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador—at—large on crimes of the Kiev regime, told Izvestia.

Photo: REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch

Recently, representatives of the Russian Federation and the United States have held meetings at different levels. CIA Director John Ratcliffe arrived in Moscow on August 25, where, according to official statements, he held a meeting with the head of the SVR, Sergei Naryshkin. Neither Washington nor Moscow disclosed any details of this trip.

"During the meeting, we discussed a number of issues that are within the competence of the intelligence services. And the competence of the intelligence services, as you well understand, is such a rather delicate and special thing," Naryshkin said.

The visit of the CIA director to Russia "was semi-routine," said US President Donald Trump. According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the trip was aimed at maintaining open communication channels between the United States and Russia. The media reported that Ratcliffe allegedly discussed with the Russian side the prospects for further negotiations, including the possibility of a trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, the United States and Ukraine. But no one has officially confirmed this information.

Meanwhile, on August 31, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant at the G20 venue in Asheville. Officially, the parties discussed financial cooperation. Nevertheless, the American media, citing sources, reported that Trump's peace plan for Ukraine was also discussed.

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The arrival of American negotiators in Moscow is an attempt to revive the previous negotiation format, said Evgeny Semibratov, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts at the Rudn University. In a conversation with Izvestia, the expert noted that it is extremely important for the Trump administration to demonstrate the mediation role of the White House on the eve of congressional elections. One of Trump's key promises — to end the Ukrainian conflict in a short time — has not yet been fulfilled. If Washington now completely refuses to resolve the crisis, then against the background of the inability of the White House to influence Tehran, this will be perceived as a geopolitical weakness.

Photo: REUTERS

Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently noted that achieving a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine will require fundamentally "new ideas," as previous initiatives have stalled. One of the main reasons is the unacceptability of the past conditions for Kiev. At the same time, Russia continues to rely on the diplomatic achievements of the Anchorage summit in the negotiation process. Although the details of these proposals have not been officially disclosed, the media has repeatedly noted that the main stumbling block remains the territorial issue — in particular, Kiev's refusal to withdraw troops from the territories of Donbass remaining under its control.

According to Semibratov, Ukrainians are unlikely to agree to conditions that would be acceptable to Moscow in the near future. The latest statements by the authorities in Kiev rather indicate a bet on further escalation, he believes. Nevertheless, the visit of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may have a specific goal — to get current settlement terms from Moscow in order to discuss them with Kiev, the political scientist added. However, there is no reason to count on a softening of the Russian position — on the contrary, against the background of the successes at the front, which Vladimir Putin recently reported, the demands of the Russian Federation can only become tougher.

Photo: Global Look Press/Michael Runkel

Moscow has repeatedly said that it is ready to end the crisis based on current realities. At the same time, Kiev is trying to propose solutions that cannot suit the Russian Federation. Zelensky, for example, considers the creation of a buffer free economic zone in Donbas under the control of a third party to be a possible settlement option. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Donbass is part of Russia, so third-party control over this region is excluded.

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"The proposals that are being brought to us are sometimes, I would say, exotic and unacceptable. We are always ready for a dialogue about peace, but only on the basis of the realities taking shape on earth," Vladimir Putin said earlier.

However, the visit of the American negotiators may pursue another goal — the preparation of future meetings at the highest level, according to Dmitry Solonnikov, director of the Institute of Modern State Development. There is a whole series of major international summits ahead, including APEC and G20. By the way, Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov has already admitted that a trilateral conversation between Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping may take place at the November APEC meeting in China. However, in order to implement such plans, the parties need to find common ground in advance and identify topics on which their positions at least partially coincide, Solonnikov stressed.

Photo: Global Look Press/Pan Yulong

In fact, the trip of Witkoff and Kushner will determine whether the US mediation mission is even viable now. There are two scenarios. Optimistic: the Americans are taking clear parameters of the deal away from Moscow and forcing Kiev to discuss them in detail, which gives the negotiations a new impetus. Pessimistic: the mission is failing, the United States is leaving to solve internal problems amid the upcoming congressional elections and the conflict with Iran. This will leave Moscow and Kiev alone, and it will also untie the hands of the European Union, giving Brussels the opportunity to further escalate the conflict in an attempt to seize the initiative.