U.S. President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said that an agreement had been reached to hold a new trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, the United States, and Russia. He made the statement after talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, UNN reports, citing CNN.
Details
According to Witkoff, the negotiation process aimed at ending the Russian-Ukrainian war is showing some progress. In particular, the parties managed to resume trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi and agree to continue them.
There is progress. It was achieved earlier today. No one expected us to resume the trilateral format in Abu Dhabi. We resumed it. Moreover, we agreed on a new meeting
CNN correspondent Fred Pleitgen, who spoke with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner after their talks in Moscow, said that both American representatives were fairly optimistic. According to the journalist, Witkoff and Kushner believe that the latest diplomatic contacts have created new momentum for the negotiation process. In their view, this could allow the parties to begin gradual progress toward a settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
At the same time, the specific timing and location of the next trilateral meeting have not yet been clarified. It is also still unknown whether the American delegation managed to reach an agreement with Moscow on the key contentious issues of a peace settlement.
Context
On November 10–11, representatives of Ukraine, the United States, and Russia held talks in Abu Dhabi focused on finding ways to end the war. The parties discussed security issues, humanitarian initiatives, and possible further steps toward a peace settlement. At the same time, no significant breakthrough was achieved regarding the main disagreements.
On November 12, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. After the meeting, the American representatives traveled to Dublin, where their talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were scheduled.
Witkoff and Kushner are expected to brief the Ukrainian leader on the results of their conversation at the Kremlin and discuss the further prospects for the peace process.