Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov assured reporters today that Kirill Dmitriev, presidential envoy and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), has briefed President Vladimir Putin on his Dec. 20-21 discussions in Miami with U.S. President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and White House official Josh Gruenbaum on terms for resolving the Ukraine conflict. It is now up to “our head of state to formulate our further positions and continue our contacts through the available channels as soon as possible.”
Peskov was firm, however, that Russia would not be releasing specifics, as is Russia’s policy, since “communicating through the mass media is inadvisable” if negotiations are to prove successful. He also refused to confirm or deny media reports that Dmitriev had brought back four draft proposals resulting from the talks, RT reported.
Meanwhile, British-NATO puppet and acting President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues his policy of negotiating through the media. Western NATO-aligned Establishment media are playing up Zelenskyy’s contention that the U.S. and Ukraine have by and large agreed on a 20-point peace plan, with a few key details left to be decided in a trilateral meeting between himself and Presidents Trump and Putin. He is reported to have briefed reporters on Dec. 23, with the proviso that the contents of his briefing would be embargoed until this morning, Dec. 24. Zelenskyy, who has repeatedly proven to be an unreliable source, asserted that this is the plan U.S. negotiators have presented to the Russians, and Moscow was expected to respond on Dec. 24.
For his part, all President Trump told reporters in a Dec. 23 press conference is that the Russia-Ukraine peace talks are “going okay.” Despite press spin that he “hinted” at a trilateral meeting, the idea of a trilateral meeting was raised by the reporter, and Trump ignored the matter in his answer.
Otherwise, efforts to normalize U.S.-Russian relations are proceeding, but “sluggishly,” two Russian Foreign Ministry officials noted on Dec. 23 and 24. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov confirmed to TASS “that another round of consultations on irritants with the United States has taken place,” but with “minimal progress” made so far. Consultations continue, however, he added. Alexander Gusarov, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of the North Atlantic head, told Izvestia that there has been progress on regularizing the issuance of visas for diplomatic mission personnel and easing restrictions on their activities. “This is not bad,” he said, “but in order to seriously come closer to fulfilling the task of stabilizing bilateral relations set by the Presidents, the level of ambition of the parties must be significantly higher.”
The agreement to hold talks on reducing the numerous “irritants” to normal relations between these two nuclear superpowers was made in the August summit between the two Presidents in Alaska.
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By Independent News Roundup