(MOSCOW, RUSSIA) – Russian newspapers have described the visit of US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow as “diplomacy of the doomed,” reporting that no breakthrough was achieved and no compromise was offered by the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Moskovsky Komsomolets used the phrase to describe the talks, adding that the mission was “doomed to underachievement from the outset.”
Several conclusions emerged from the Russian press coverage. There was no diplomatic breakthrough. There is no sign of compromise from Putin on Ukraine. He appears to be sticking to his maximalist demands.
Moscow also appears to believe that Donald Trump needs a quick peace deal on Ukraine more than Russia does.
Moskovsky Komsomolets reported that Witkoff and Kushner had a “very nice, friendly, and mutually sympathetic conversation” with Putin. However, the paper said “all this cuteness has no real chance of transforming into any quick significant progress in negotiations on the Ukraine conflict.”
The paper linked Trump’s renewed interest in Ukraine to the US midterm elections. It said the US president is facing extremely important midterm elections to Congress and would want to demonstrate impressive achievements.
Trump has not been able to demonstrate those achievements in Iran. “The White House chief’s Iranian adventure is one third quagmire, one third defeat, and the rest an extremely unconvincing half victory,” the paper wrote.
From Putin’s point of view, there is no reason to give Trump a gift for the midterm elections. The Kremlin chief will not offend Trump, the paper said. Good relations with the head of the current US administration are an important foreign policy trump card for Russia’s leader.
“But there is a huge distance between not offending Trump and appeasing him. And all the efforts of Witkoff and Kushner fall into this notorious gap like into the hole of a donut,” the paper wrote.
Moscow is calculating that its autumn and winter campaigns should force the leaders in Kyiv to reconsider their negotiating positions and bring them closer to the Kremlin’s demands.
Komsomolskaya Pravda noted that Putin began his meeting with the US envoys by saying: “Today we will discuss all the components of the conflict and all its aspects and for our part we are also ready to inform you about our view of the situation.”
The paper said Putin outlined the point of the meeting as informing and discussing, not finding a solution.
Kommersant reported that Moscow made clear that after the intensification of Russian strikes, Ukraine’s defeat is becoming increasingly realistic, which requires Kyiv to accept Russian conditions via US mediation.
The Russian government paper published an opinion piece asking why Trump’s peace efforts “go round in circles and each round ends in disillusionment.” The paper concluded that for both Russia and Ukraine, too much depends on the result of the confrontation for it to be resolved through one of Trump’s favourite deals.
Vedomosti concluded that the positions of the main sides of the conflict, Kyiv and Moscow, remain far apart.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported that attacks by enemy drones are becoming a new reason for Russian business to revise investment plans. The first signs are in the warehouse real estate segment. Developers are postponing new operations and new construction.
This is the result not only of economic reasons but also of complications due to the geopolitical situation. Instead of erecting special anti drone netting, some investors are calculating the cost of building concrete warehouses. Expert estimates suggest these will be 20 to 30 percent more expensive than standard options.
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