Putin's Special Envoy: President Zelensky Made A Serious Step

The Kremlin talked about "proximity" to a peaceful settlement.

Russia and Ukraine, with U.S. assistance, are close to ending the military conflict diplomatically, said Russian Presidential Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who traveled to Washington after Donald Trump imposed sanctions against Lukoil and Rosneft.

"President [Vladimir] Zelensky took a serious step in recognizing that we are talking about [freezing hostilities along] the front line. His previous position was that Russia should completely withdraw [from Ukraine], so actually, I think we are quite close to working out a diplomatic solution," Dmitriev said in an interview with CNN on Friday. Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that freezing the war on the front lines does not suit Moscow.

The visit of the RDIF head to Washington comes against the backdrop of sanctions against two major Russian oil companies announced the other day by the U.S. president aimed at forcing Vladimir Putin to stop the war. Despite the move, Dmitriev said the dialog between Russia and the U.S. will continue. "This is certainly possible only if Russia's interests are taken into account and treated with respect," Dmitriev told Reuters.

In an interview with Fox television, Dmitriev outlined three issues that are crucial from the Kremlin's point of view within the peace process in Ukraine. The first is the format of security guarantees for Ukraine, the second is "the territorial issue related to the Russian population," and the third is Ukraine's neutral status. "There are not many issues on the table. And if you understand how they can be settled diplomatically, a solution can be found quite soon," Putin's envoy said.

Dmitriev flew to the United States on October 24. According to Axios, he will meet with U.S. presidential special envoy Steve Whitkoff on Saturday.

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