United States Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is gearing up to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine during his visit to Moscow.
Witkoff is set to negotiate the U.S.-backed 19-point plan following successful negotiations with Ukrainian officials, who have put the ball back in Russia’s court to work with the framework.
The new plan is an amended version of the 28-point plan that was devised by the U.S. and Moscow without Ukraine’s input.
The old plan favoured Russia, which will now be eager to give input on the revised plan discussed by the U.S. and Ukraine in Florida.
However, it is unknown whether Putin will play ball with the new plan, especially since the previous one favoured Russia.
Putin and Kremlin officials have been hesitant towards the amended peace plan, signalling that while Russia is ready to talk, the war with Ukraine may not necessarily end soon.
“In general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements,” Putin said during a trip to Kyrgyzstan.
While borders, security guarantees, the fate of Russian assets and the prospect for joint U.S.-Russia investment ventures will all be discussed during the meeting, Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov says a vital element is missing from the agenda.
Muratov said he is worried about the fate of the people, especially the hundreds imprisoned in Russia under censorship law that has made it illegal to "discredit" the Russian army or spread "deliberately false information" since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"Look, they're talking about money, deals, rare earth metals, borders, but have you ever heard anyone talk about people?" he told Reuters.
"I really don't know what's going on in Putin's head, forgive me... I only know that people are dying in prisons, and they need to be saved.”
