US mediation efforts in Moscow and Kyiv yield no concrete results

The visit of US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kiev over the weekend did not bring Ukraine any closer to peace. Although everyone involved spoke afterwards of “substantial” discussions, Witkoff called them “encouraging”. But as expected, there were no concrete results.

This is mainly because Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to reject a ceasefire. His plan is to bomb the Ukrainian population for another winter to improve his negotiating position. He told Witkoff and Kushner in Kiev that Russia would achieve its war goals through military means.

Ukraine has already made far-reaching concessions. President Volodymyr Zelensky would agree to an immediate ceasefire along the current front. Putin, on the other hand, has not yet made a single concession. He sticks to the demand that Ukraine cede the entire Donbass.

The USA stopped its attempts at mediation at the beginning of the year because there were no signs of rapprochement. In addition, US President Donald Trump was distracted by his war with Iran. The fact that the Americans are now rediscovering Ukraine seems to be primarily due to domestic political calculations. There are Duma elections in Russia on September 20th and congressional elections in the USA in November. A peace initiative is a good idea, no matter how hopeless it may be.