European and U.S. officials believe Russia’s war against Ukraine will continue into next year, acknowledging that the latest U.S. peace initiative has failed to make significant progress in talks with Vladimir Putin.
Bloomberg reports this, citing sources, according to Ukrinform.
According to the publication’s sources, U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff made no significant progress during talks in Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend. Putin showed no willingness to soften his position despite signals from Washington that new ideas were needed to revive negotiations. The Russian president continues to seek control over the Donbas.
One source said Putin used the visit by the U.S. special envoys to project strength at home ahead of the State Duma elections, which will be held September 18–20. He kept the U.S. delegation waiting until evening for a meeting at the Kremlin. Witkoff and Kushner were forced to spend several hours having lunch with Putin’s representative Kirill Dmitriev at an upscale restaurant in central Moscow.
According to the sources, trilateral talks involving representatives of the United States, Russia, and Ukraine could resume after the State Duma elections. However, they are unlikely to bring a peace deal significantly closer.
