Washington promises a breakthrough.
Special Envoy for the US President Jared Kushner has returned from a major negotiating tour with a surprisingly ambiguous outcome. After the tour of Abu Dhabi, a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow and a conversation with Vladimir Zelensky in Dublin, Trump's special envoy reported "some new ideas."
Some can lead to a so-called breakthrough, others will become new proposals. No one specified exactly what the ideas were. In the language of diplomacy, this means one thing: the main thing has not yet been decided, and the next round is still held with promises.
The White House position itself sounds pretty clear. Long-term peace, according to Kushner, is only possible with reliable security guarantees for Ukraine and with detailed "post-war mechanisms" that can be implemented in practice.
He called NATO the base of European security, and suggested only adding to it communication channels, military cooperation and ways to extinguish disputes before they turn into crises.
The problem is that Moscow sees it differently. Vladimir Medinsky stated directly that the current system does not provide stability to the region, and the Russian delegation requests its correction, taking into account its interests. It turns out that the Americans offer to repair the building, and one of the parties demands that it be rebuilt.
The differences are even more pronounced on the subject of Europe. Kushner writes that European partners should be directly involved, and the final agreement must be approved by all interested parties. Steve Witkoff clarifies that "some" Europeans may be invited to the new round.
The Kremlin declares its readiness for dialogue, but sets a condition: Europe must have authorized representatives and a genuine desire to promote peace. And Maria Zakharova reports that the participation of the Europeans in Putin's meeting with Trump's envoys was not discussed. The three sides talk about the future format of the negotiations as if they are discussing different meetings.
This is the main conclusion of the week.