From September 5th to 6th, delegations led by U.S. presidential envoy Witkov and U.S. President Trump’s son-in-law Kushner visited Moscow and Kiev successively and held talks with Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky respectively. During the visit of the US envoy, Russia and Ukraine respectively announced a three-day suspension of air strikes on each other's capitals.
Analysts believe that the situation between Russia and Ukraine will remain in a state of "fighting and talks" for some time to come. This temporary ceasefire arrangement and diplomatic contacts have provided basic conditions for subsequent negotiations, but the peace process still faces many uncertainties.
Zelensky calls for "substantive" meeting
On the 6th, delegations led by Witkov and Kushner arrived in Kiev and later held talks with the negotiating team led by Ukrainian President Zelensky in Kiev.
The meeting lasted about three hours
Zelensky said that on the afternoon of the 6th, Ukraine and the United States held talks for about three hours. That night, the Ukrainian and American teams continued to hold talks with the national security advisers of Britain, Germany and France.
Witkov said after the talks that the talks were "pragmatic and important, and we feel very encouraged." He said that the United States will continue to advance the relevant mediation process and looks forward to making more progress.
Zelensky: Talks "very substantive"
At a press conference after the meeting, Zelensky said that Ukraine, representatives from the United States and European countries discussed issues related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, such as winter assistance to Ukraine and security guarantees, and that the talks were "very substantive."
Zelensky said that he discussed in detail with Witkov and Kushner the challenges faced by Ukraine during the winter and the support provided by U.S. and European partners to Ukraine. Ukraine looks forward to receiving a large amount of assistance in air defense and energy. Ukraine and the United States discussed the possibility of using American liquefied natural gas to survive the winter.
Zelensky said that the talks not only cover the required security guarantees, but also include economic guarantees aimed at ensuring the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war. After the war, Ukraine also needs to maintain a strong army. He also said that complex issues such as territory involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict need to be discussed at the leadership level.
Zelensky said that all parties agreed to hold a new round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States and Europe in the near future, and the location of the talks has not yet been determined.
US Special Envoy: Conveyed to Uzbekistan the progress of previous talks
Witkov said that the United States had made important progress in previous talks with Russia, and relevant views had been conveyed to Ukraine. The United States believed that "cooperation is crucial."
Regarding whether the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will end before this winter, Kushner said that the United States cannot guarantee it, but it will make efforts to this end and continue to advance negotiations. He will work with Witkov to resume the trilateral talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine.
After the US envoy’s visit to Russia
Russia and Ukraine suspend air strikes on each other's capitals for three days
On the evening of the 5th, Putin held more than three hours of talks with the visiting Witkov and Kushner at the Kremlin. Russian presidential assistant Ushakov said that the two sides held talks on extremely serious issues, and the talks were constructive and very candid.
Ushakov reported on the 6th that Russia stated during the talks that it was confident in achieving the set goals of the special military operation, and at the same time emphasized the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict. Russia is willing to seek to resolve the issue through political and diplomatic channels with the United States.
Ushakov also said that the US representatives expressed their hope to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict as soon as possible during the talks, and also put forward a series of ideas on ways to end the conflict.
In order to ensure the negotiation process and the safety of US personnel, both Russia and Ukraine have made temporary ceasefire arrangements. Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov stated on the 5th that Putin has ordered that no air strikes will be carried out in Kiev for three days starting from midnight on the 5th. Zelensky also stated on the 5th that Ukraine has decided to stop attacking Moscow from now until September 7.
Can a moratorium on mutual attacks be the dawn of peace?
After this round of US mediation, have the core positions of Russia and Ukraine been loosened? What does "two-way ceasefire" mean, and can it be a prelude to a substantive ceasefire?
Has the core position of Russia and Ukraine been loosened?
Analysts in Russia believe that this meeting sent a positive signal that Russia and the United States maintain diplomatic contact, but it is difficult to achieve a substantial breakthrough in resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the short term, and differences in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine still exist. This shuttle diplomatic operation by the United States is more to find out the current demands and bottom line of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, rather than to directly promote a peace agreement.
Sun Zhuangzhi, director of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also pointed out that the current situation on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield is still stalemate and there is a risk of losing control. The US special envoy went to Russia and Ukraine at this time to promote peace talks, which will help cool down the conflict. However, judging from the positions expressed by Russia and Ukraine, both sides still adhere to their original basic demands and show no signs of loosening their positions. The actual results that the US mediation can ultimately achieve may still be relatively limited.
Analysts said that judging from the current situation, it would be difficult for both sides to accept the request that Russia withdraw from the areas it controls, or that Ukraine accept the "land for peace" plan. Therefore, the core issue remains territorial ownership and Ukraine’s security. If these two basic issues cannot be resolved, the conflict will probably continue.
Can the three-day ceasefire be a prelude to a substantive ceasefire?
The last time Russia and Ukraine announced a temporary ceasefire was in May, and since then the mutual attacks between the two sides have rapidly escalated. Since June, the Russian army has continued to launch large-scale ballistic missile and drone attacks on Kiev City and Kiev Oblast, while the Ukrainian army has carried out a series of air strikes such as the "40-Day Special Operation Operation".
Experts said that the ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine is not a response to the other party's actions, but more to create a good atmosphere to welcome the US envoy and ensure his safety. But this move does show that both sides have expectations for a future ceasefire, and also reflects each other's current realistic needs for peace talks. If high-intensity military confrontation continues, both sides will bear tremendous pressure and costs. In this context, both sides hope to gain respite through peace talks, and at the same time strive to win over the United States to put pressure on the other side to build a situation that is beneficial to themselves. However, judging from the positions of Russia and Ukraine and the plans that the United States can propose, there is still a long way to go to truly resolve the conflict.
Director System丨Tang Yi
Producer | Wen Fan
Editor丨Pan Chen
Reporters | Dong Wei, Xu Tao, Wang Delu
