Little is known about the current status of the peace plan to resolve the war. It started with 28 points, but it already had 19 and now Russia has messed up all the scores again
This Tuesday’s meeting between the Russian president and American envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, served to “kill” the understanding that emerged from Geneva between Kiev and the Western allies, says Tiago André Lopes, commentator for CNN Portugal, analyzing the words of Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s advisor, after the meeting.
“Ushakov tried to kill the Geneva meeting”, said the university professor, who is of the opinion that the European proposal “collapses” with Russian intentions by not considering “territorial conditions”.
In Ushakov’s statements, Europe was almost Olympianly ignored. Only in response to a journalist did Putin’s advisor mention that the president conveyed to Kushner and Witkoff “his assessment of the destructive actions” of Europe.
For Tiago André Lopes, Moscow does not consider that Europe is negotiating “seriously”.
“In Russia’s view, Europe is not taking into account the military, security or economic context”, says the CNN Portugal commentator.
Even so, Tiago André Lopes says he inferred from Ushakov’s words that there was “some progress” in the meetings, but not much, given that Putin’s own right-hand man did not reveal the content of the negotiations. “Moscow has always been against public diplomacy, what is now called megaphone diplomacy. For Russia, this agreement is for private negotiation.”
From left to right, Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin, a translator and Kirill Dmitriev before meeting with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff this Tuesday in the Kremlin (Alexander Kazakov/Pool Sputnik Kremlin via AP)
In fact, little is known about the plan outlined by Washington DC. It started with 28 points, was cut to 19, Zelensky later spoke of 20 and Ushakov said it was 27.
“It’s a very flexible negotiation”, says Francisco Pereira Coutinho, who understands that, for the Russians, the “priority” is relations with the USA and not the war in Ukraine, seen as something minor by the Kremlin.
“If they could not even discuss the Ukrainian issue and move forward, the Russians would be grateful. Moscow wants the US to stop enacting any type of sanctions, to remove those that, in the meantime, have been enacted, and not to adopt more and even more problematic ones. What we are hearing about are the deals that can be done between the US and Russia. And time is passing.”
From Ushakov’s words, Pereira Coutinho understood that Russia intends to “keep the lines of communication with the USA open, not letting the Ukrainian issue disturb this type of negotiations”.
The university professor also concluded that the situation surrounding the conflict in Ukraine “has not changed substantially” this Tuesday.
“The Russians didn’t say they didn’t want the American plan, they said in a very cunning and diplomatic way that they didn’t agree with some things, but they agreed with others. This is basically saying that they are, at this moment, not willing to move towards a ceasefire or an armistice, but, on the other hand, they don’t want to antagonize the United States and want to keep the situation as it is”, he explained to CNN Portugal.
Francisco Pereira Coutinho also highlighted at an investment forum at the Russian bank VTB, hours before the meeting with Kushner and Witkoff, in which he said that Russia would be prepared for a war with Europe, although, says the Russian leader, it does not want it.
What else did Ushakov say?
At the end of the meeting, Putin’s advisor said that the bilateral talks were “very useful, constructive and very informative”, but considered that peace is neither closer nor further away.
Yuri Ushakov refused, on several occasions, after questions from journalists, to detail what was on the table. Ushakov also mentioned that Witkoff and Kushner “did not promise” that they would go to Kiev after the meeting. And they really weren’t, a point that Tiago André Lopes highlights.
“Witkoff went to the embassy [dos EUA em Moscovo] and then to the USA. He was supposed to have passed through Kiev. Something in the negotiation justified him going directly to Washington DC.”
