The US, Ukraine and Russia have resumed informal talks. One option they are discussing is a ceasefire format with Russia with a buffer zone of 50-70 km.
This was stated by sources in the White House to The Economist.
According to the sources, Kyiv is in daily contact with President Donald Trumpʼs team. At the same time, communication with Russia has also resumed. In particular, one of the scenarios, the buffer zone plan, is to limit fighting on both sides of the front and then move on to a broader peace agreement.
The attitude towards the war is also changing noticeably in Washington. They are increasingly repeating that Russia cannot be trusted and that Ukraine is not the weaker side, but can win the war. This is gradually becoming a more official position.
Against this backdrop, the United States is also paying attention to Ukraine’s actions on the battlefield. In particular, on June 18, Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery on the outskirts of Moscow. The United States sees such strikes as a sign of how rapidly Ukrainian technology, especially drones, is developing.
Because of this, according to sources, Trumpʼs attitude is also changing. He is beginning to perceive the war more personally and understandably. A former Ukrainian official explains it this way: after the experience with Iran, Trump allegedly realized that without pressure on Putin he would not get the desired result.
An anonymous senior Ukrainian official told The Economist that Russia is unlikely to change its position by October. He said Moscow is likely to drag out the war until next spring, hoping that a winter campaign of missile and drone attacks will force Kyiv to make concessions.
Among Moscowʼs key demands is de facto and legal recognition of the occupation of Donbas and Crimea, as well as the current lines in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Ukraine rejects these demands.
Negotiations between Ukraine, Russia and the USA
The first direct trilateral negotiations between delegations from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and the United States took place in Abu Dhabi on January 23-24. Their main topic was the possible terms for ending the war, but the negotiators did not achieve any concrete results.
The next round of negotiations took place in Abu Dhabi on February 4-5. The parties focused on the mechanisms of the ceasefire and how it would be monitored by the United States. But the delegations were unable to finally agree on the details without political decisions at the highest level.
At the same time, they agreed on the first exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia in the last five months — 157 Ukrainians returned home.
After that, Ukraine, Russia, and the United States held peace talks in Geneva on February 17-18. Zelensky said at the time that the military had almost agreed on how to monitor the ceasefire, but there had been no progress on the issues of territories and the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
The latest round of trilateral talks between Kyiv, Washington, and Moscow took place in Geneva, Switzerland, on February 26. Particular attention was focused on the economic bloc and long-term support mechanisms for Ukraine.
In early June, Zelensky proposed a meeting with Putin in an open letter. The Russian dictator rejected the offer. Zelensky later said that he also met with Russian businessman Roman Abramovich in Kyiv to convey the meeting proposal to Putin.
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