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The United States is assessing whether Ukraine and Russia can take steps to de-escalate the war during the winter while resuming negotiations on a broader peace agreement, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Axios.
Window for diplomacy
Zelenskyy said the weeks before winter could create a window for diplomacy, although he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is counting on another difficult winter to weaken Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president said that even if Putin is unwilling to de-escalate, the United States has sufficient leverage to pressure Moscow.
After his meeting in Kyiv with Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Zelenskyy said they conveyed a message from Moscow that Russia is ready for negotiations.
New proposals
Witkoff and Kushner also brought new ideas, although Zelenskyy declined to disclose all the details.
Some of the discussions focused on possible de-escalation measures by Ukraine and Russia before and during the winter.
“ There are ideas concerning energy facilities and grain supplies, as well as oil and gas exports. We have different interests with Russia,” Zelenskyy said.
According to the president, the U.S. approach of restarting negotiations and seeking agreements that would allow Ukraine and Russia to get through the winter without a major escalation closely reflects the substance of the recent talks.
The goal, he said, is to identify steps that could be taken before or during the winter to move the sides closer to peace.
After meetings in Moscow and Kyiv, the U.S. side reported progress in the peace process and agreement on a schedule for further negotiations.
On September 6, Witkoff and Kushner spent the day in Kyiv, meeting with Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s negotiating team and representatives of European countries.
