As the Russo-Ukrainian conflict enters another winter eve, the United States is trying to revive the peace process that has been stalled for months.
According to a report by the American news website Axios on September 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed in an interview that the United States is studying a diplomatic plan aimed at ‘easing tensions during the winter months’. He hoped that both Russia and Ukraine would reduce conflict during the winter season and simultaneously resume broader peace negotiations. Zelenskyy said that the message conveyed to him by the U.S. envoy after his trip to Moscow and Kyiv was that ‘Russia is ready to discuss negotiations’.
Zelensky and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Wertkov and Jared Kushner Axios
This statement comes after U.S. government special envoy Steve Wetkow and Jared Kushner completed their visits to Russia and Ukraine. It also indicates that Washington is attempting to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine once again.
Zelenskyy said that the main purpose of Witkow and Kushner's visit to Russia and Ukraine was to “open up” the stalled diplomatic process, while also bringing some new negotiation ideas.
He did not disclose the specific plan, but stated that the discussions involved multiple sensitive areas, including energy infrastructure, food transportation, electrical facilities, and oil and gas exports.
When asked whether the US side hopes to resume negotiations while also creating some understanding between the two sides during the winter, in order to avoid large-scale attacks on targets such as energy facilities, Zelenskyy responded that this understanding “is very close to the actual situation of these discussions”.
During the interview, Zelensky also discussed his judgment of Russian President Putin.
He believes that while Putin still hopes to weaken Ukraine during the winter months, he is also reluctant to provoke Trump before the U.S. mid-term elections.
"My feeling is that Putin needs Trump. He doesn't want to annoy him." Zelensky said.
When asked whether Putin might be willing to give Trump a diplomatic achievement before an American election, Zelenskyy replied: “Yes.”
However, he also emphasized that he still doubts whether the Russian side is truly willing to compromise. This is because recent actions by the Russian military on the battlefield and the escalating air strikes do not indicate a willingness to make concessions. However, based on the information brought back by the US envoy, Putin is “ready to discuss” various ideas for advancing negotiations.
On September 6 local time, Vitali Kovalov and Donald Trump held a closed-door meeting with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin for about 3 hours. After the meeting, Russia described the talks as "constructive" and stated that they did not rule out the possibility of resuming tripartite negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. However, they emphasized that it is still too early to discuss the timing and location for such negotiations.
The next day, the two arrived in Kyiv and met with Zelenskyy. This was also the first visit by the two envoys to Ukraine since Trump began his second term in office.
Zelensky revealed that the message conveyed to him by the US envoy was that "Russians are ready for negotiations." The US team will then report this to Trump and continue to hold consultations with Ukraine and European counterparts.
Despite the US proposing a "winter de-escalation" concept, there is no optimism regarding its feasibility in reality.
According to Axios citing U.S. officials, it is still impossible to determine whether it will be possible to balance the interests of Russia and Ukraine before the winter approaches. In the past few years, attempts to hold a ceasefire or suspend attacks on energy facilities have failed several times.
Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine hopes to resume the diplomatic process in September and October, and proposed to continue the US-Ukraine talks during the United Nations General Assembly later this month. He also mentioned that there is no reason to rule out holding another trilateral negotiation between the US, Ukraine, and Russia in the future.
However, he emphasized that diplomatic efforts do not mean that Ukraine will abandon its military preparations. “Without dialogue, there will be no results,” said Zelenskyy. Ukraine still needs to maintain sufficient military strength and continue to seek external assistance in areas such as air defense and energy.
