U.S. and Russian officials held secret discussions, with reports suggesting the aim was to push Moscow toward peace in Ukraine and ease sanctions, while also brokering energy investments.
When were the talks supposed to take place?
According to Reuters, the meetings occurred during the visit of U.S. Ambassador Steve Witkoff to Moscow at the beginning of the month, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The agreements were also discussed at the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as during a summit in Alaska on August 15. Earlier U.S.-Russia negotiations took place in a broader group. At that time, Trump was accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his advisor Steve Witkoff, while Putin was joined by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and presidential advisor Yuri Ushakov.
What was the purpose of the agreements?
Sources claim the talks aimed to encourage Moscow to seek peace in Ukraine and Washington to ease sanctions against Russia. Three individuals stated officials discussed the possibility of re-engaging Exxon Mobil in the Russian oil-and-gas project Sakhalin-1, while four mentioned the topic of Russia purchasing U.S. equipment for projects like Arctic LNG 2. “Another idea was the U.S. purchasing Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers,” the agency reported. Recall that Russia was cut off from most international energy investments after sanctions imposed following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine seeks talks with Russia
Ukraine’s president noted that Russians are doing everything to prevent a meeting with Putin. Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a joint press conference with NATO’s Secretary General in Kyiv, emphasizing Western security guarantees for Ukraine. Zelenskyy reiterated his willingness to meet Putin, adding that the Kremlin’s host proposed such a meeting during the U.S. talks. He stressed that strong sanctions are needed if Russia refuses a diplomatic solution to the war. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Putin will not meet Zelenskyy unless a potential summit agenda is established.
Source: Gazeta, https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wladimir-putin#anchorLink], https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/donald-tusk#anchorLink], https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/siergiej-lawrow#anchorLink], https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/Waszyngton#anchorLink], https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wojna#anchorLink]
