The Kremlin has shown willingness to study the so-called “victory plan” that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to present this week during his trip to the United States.
“When we get information through official channels, we will of course study it carefully,” Dmitry Peskov, the president’s spokesman, said during his daily telephone press conference. Peskov said that so far the media have published “contradictory” information about the content of the plan. “We take all this with great caution,” he added.
On Monday, Zelensky began a trip to the United States during which he will present the so-called “victory plan” to President Joe Biden, as well as to the two candidates for the White House, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
According to press reports, the plan could include security guarantees; an economic aid package; a commitment to future arms deliveries, including long-range missiles; and diplomatic pressure for Russia to agree to sit down and negotiate a peaceful settlement to the conflict.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova assured last Saturday that Russia would not participate in any peace summit for Ukraine based on the formula proposed by the Ukrainian president. “Russian representatives have not participated and will not participate in any meetings of the Bürgenstock process (Swiss town where the first peace summit in Ukraine was held without Russian participation). “This process has nothing to do with the search for solutions,” he said in a statement.
He assured that Russia does not reject “a political-diplomatic solution to the crisis” based on the conditions set in mid-June by President Vladimir Putin – that kyiv withdraw its troops from the four regions that Moscow claims to have annexed (Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia) and abandon its plan to join NATO, in exchange for an immediate ceasefire and the start of peace negotiations.
According to some experts, Russia will not move towards possible peace negotiations with Ukraine until it finally expels enemy troops from the Kursk border region, which they entered on August 6.
