According to Axios’ sources, the US-Russia plan consists of 28 points that cover four broad categories: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe and future US relations with Russia and Ukraine. What exactly is said about the territory in eastern Ukraine, which Russia is looking for, is still not clear, but it is clear from everything that Washington has not cut off contacts with Moscow despite the cancellation of the summit between Trump and Putin in Budapest and the sanctions against Lukoil and Gazprom.
According to an anonymous US official, Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, discussed the plan in detail with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev. Dmitriyev confirmed that he spent three days in talks with Witkoff and other members of Trump’s team during their visit to Miami from October 24-26.
Kyiv was informed about the negotiations because Witkoff discussed the plan with the secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, in Miami these days, a Ukrainian official confirmed to Axios. “We know the Americans are working on something,” the official said.
“President Trump has made it clear that it is time to stop the killing and reach an agreement to end the war. Trump believes there is an opportunity to end this senseless war if we show flexibility,” an official statement from the White House said.
The details of the plan are not known, but Dmitriev claims that the “main idea” was to accept the principles that Trump and Putin agreed on in Alaska. He added that the framework of the talks was “much broader, about how to finally provide long-term security in Europe, not only in Ukraine.” According to him, this time “we feel that Russia’s position has really been heard”. Dmitriev emphasized that the American side is currently “explaining to Ukrainians and Europeans the advantages of its current approach to a peace solution, and all this is happening in the context of the fact that Russia is achieving additional successes on the battlefield.”
His statement actually explains why Russian troops continue offensives in the east of Ukraine and destroy cities in the interior of the country with rocket attacks, as happened on Wednesday morning when 16 were killed and more than 40 civilians were wounded in the attack on Ternopil. It’s a message to Trump that says, “either you accept our demands or we move on,” even though those Russian advances remain fairly limited.
At the same time, as reported by The Wall Street Journal and Politico, Trump sent a high-level delegation to Ukraine headed by the US Secretary of the Army (position in the Pentagon), Daniel Driscoll. He was supposed to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Ukrainian officials, leading representatives of the military and industry, and then with the Russian side, but it was not specified with whom exactly and where.
According to a WSJ source, Driscoll’s mission is to “restart peace talks on behalf of Trump.” The US presidential administration announced that Driscoll is traveling to Ukraine “to gain insight into the real situation on the ground”, and he will then present his findings to the White House. Politico adds that the U.S. and Ukraine are working on an agreement to share drone technology, and the trip is in part to support those efforts.
Zelenski arrived in Turkey on Wednesday for a meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Ankara announced that “the talks will focus on bilateral relations and initiatives within the Istanbul Process and other diplomatic channels aimed at advancing peace efforts and stabilizing the region.” Witkoff was also expected to travel to Turkey, but he suddenly backed out. The Economist announced that the talks between Andriy Jermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, and the US special envoy Steve Witkoff have been cancelled. “You must understand that tomorrow’s talks between Witkoff and Jermak in Turkey have been cancelled. I am told that Witkoff may not have realized the controversy he was getting into by agreeing to the meeting,” wrote Oliver Carroll.
Soon Jermak announced himself, who wrote on his Telegram channel that “all planned meetings are held according to plan and in a working atmosphere”. He emphasized that he is in constant contact with representatives of the Trump administration, including special envoy Steve Witkoff. “Together with our American partners, we are working to end Russian aggression against Ukraine and achieve a just and lasting peace,” Jermak added.
But he kept silent about the fact that he is at the center of the scandal pointed out by Carroll – a huge corruption scandal in Energoatom, the operator of Ukrainian nuclear power plants. The case involves bribery and illegal acquisitions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. As part of the investigation, investigators of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) searched the house of Timur Mindich, co-owner of Kvartal 95 studio and associate of President Volodymyr Zelensky. The homes of Justice Minister Herman Haluschenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrinčuk were also searched.
According to Ukrainian media, “key government officials” close to Zelensky are advising him to remove Jermak from the position of head of the presidential office due to corruption. Ukrainian journalist Konstantin Skorkin, in an analysis for the Carnegie Politika project, warns that “accusations against people from his inner circle will inevitably affect Zelensky’s image. He has few options: either sacrifice his wayward associates in order to save the rest of the team, or clash with the anti-corruption vertical, risking a serious cooling of relations with the West and an unpredictable political crisis.”
(Vijesti.ba)
