(Moscow/Washington) Shortly after US President Trump canceled the US-Russia summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special economic envoy, Dmitriev, denied the cancellation and stated that the US, Russia, and Ukraine were close to ending the Russo-Ukrainian conflict through diplomatic means.
Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's special envoy for foreign investment and economic cooperation, arrived in Washington on Friday (October 24) to meet with US officials. In an interview with CNN, he said, "I believe that Russia, the United States, and Ukraine are actually quite close to reaching a diplomatic solution."
"Ukrainian President Zelensky has acknowledged that the current disagreement lies in the demarcation of the battle lines, which is a significant shift from his previous position that Russia must withdraw completely. So I think we are actually quite close to a diplomatic solution."
Dmitriev did not provide specific details of the diplomatic plan. According to European diplomatic sources, European countries are discussing with Ukraine a new ceasefire plan based on the current battle lines, while also seeking a continued central role for the United States.
Last Thursday (16th), Trump suddenly announced that he would meet with Putin in Budapest within two weeks. This Wednesday (22nd), he canceled the meeting and imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil.
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However, Dmitriev said in an interview that the Trump-Putin meeting has not been canceled and the two may meet later. He also said that sanctions will only backfire on the United States, making "gas more expensive at the pump."
Before his departure, Dmitriev told Russia's official TASS news agency that Ukraine, at the instigation of European countries, was obstructing necessary dialogue between the United States and Russia. After arriving, he posted on social media that he was invited to the United States to continue dialogue between the two countries, but did not disclose with whom he would meet. According to the US news website Axios, he met with President Trump's special envoy Witkoff in Miami on Saturday.
Starmer Urges European Allies to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Fund Ukraine's Reconstruction
After meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky in London on Friday, British Prime Minister Starmer urged European allies to "finish the job" by using frozen Russian assets as loan collateral to release funds to aid Ukraine's reconstruction and help Kyiv strengthen its long-range missile capabilities.
The day before, EU leaders agreed to move forward with a plan to continue funding Ukraine for two years, including a €140 billion (S$211 billion) "reconstruction loan." After the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war, the European Union froze approximately €200 billion in assets held by the Russian Central Bank. The European Commission proposed using these assets as collateral to provide loans to Ukraine, short of outright confiscation. However, Belgium, where the assets are primarily held, strongly opposed the plan due to legal implications.
