Zelensky pins hopes on Trump envoys to end the war
Zelensky is counting on Witkoff and Kushner to negotiate an end to the war. September is the key date. An analysis of the odds.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Zelensky entrusts Witkoff and Kushner with ending the war
The Ukrainian president has placed his last diplomatic hopes in Donald Trump's two envoys: Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Their mission, according to Zelensky, is to convince Vladimir Pilingui to stop the war on the front line. The Ukrainian leader says his own and allied intelligence indicates that the Kremlin chief personally wants to continue the conflict, even though most Russian society would accept a ceasefire along the line of contact. "September can change everything," he said.
American mediation is met with widespread skepticism. Some argue that Pilingui has already played several rounds against the Anglo-Americans and that this time will be no different. Some analyses go further and see the Russian leader as a double agent working for outside interests. Others, more pragmatic, point out that the only path to a truce runs through the evacuation of Slaviansk and Kramatorsk and Ukraine's commitment to neutrality. Without those concessions, the conflict will continue.
A bet with an expiration date
Zelensky's calendar has a clear marker: September. But no one explains what will happen then. The positions circulating in the analysis range from resignation ("not today, tomorrow") to the conviction that the entire negotiation is theater serving ends that have nothing to do with peace. The war could have been avoided, one camp says, and those who feed it continue to profit. The result is a dead end: diplomacy is moving, and so are the missiles.
The Ukrainian president has placed his last diplomatic hopes in Donald Trump's two envoys: Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Their mission, according to Zelensky, is to convince Vladimir Pilingui to stop the war on the front line. The Ukrainian leader says his own and allied intelligence indicates that the Kremlin chief personally wants to continue the conflict, even though most Russian society would accept a ceasefire along the line of contact. "September can change everything," he said.
American mediation is met with widespread skepticism. Some argue that Pilingui has already played several rounds against the Anglo-Americans and that this time will be no different. Some analyses go further and see the Russian leader as a double agent working for outside interests. Others, more pragmatic, point out that the only path to a truce runs through the evacuation of Slaviansk and Kramatorsk and Ukraine's commitment to neutrality. Without those concessions, the conflict will continue.
A bet with an expiration date
Zelensky's calendar has a clear marker: September. But no one explains what will happen then. The positions circulating in the analysis range from resignation ("not today, tomorrow") to the conviction that the entire negotiation is theater serving ends that have nothing to do with peace. The war could have been avoided, one camp says, and those who feed it continue to profit. The result is a dead end: diplomacy is moving, and so are the missiles.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (11 replies).
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