The Ukrainian President announced today that he had met with the American emissaries to revive diplomacy and find a solution to the war with Russia, at a time when negotiations are at an impasse.
“It was a fruitful and important conversation about how to reinvigorate diplomacy and move peace forward. Peace is necessary — a peace with dignity — and Ukraine has been ready for this for a long time,” Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media, referring to Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, envoys of the American President, Donald Trump.
Following expressions of support for the former Defense Minister, the Ukrainian head of state replaced on Tuesday the commander of the army, Oleksandr Syrsky, who found himself at the center of a conflict with Mykhailo Fedorov over how to conduct the war.
At the end of June, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, stated that he was awaiting the arrival of the American negotiators to resume negotiations, more than four years after the start of the war.
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American mediation efforts between Kyiv and Moscow have been paralyzed since the start of the war in the Middle East, at the end of February, with Washington’s attention turned toward Iran.
Previous negotiations between the warring parties did not lead to the ceasefire sought by Ukraine and its European allies, with Russia insisting on the need to establish the foundations for a definitive peace agreement, rather than a pause in the fighting.
The negotiations run up against, notably, the question of the territories claimed by Russia in Ukraine. Moscow demands the total withdrawal of the Ukrainian army from Donbas, in the east of the country, which Kyiv refuses.
