The negotiations in Abu Dhabi may have far more serious consequences for Ukraine than they appear at first glance. Vladimir Medinsky’s return to the Russian delegation, the ambiguous role of the Americans, and the actions of the Ukrainian representatives are raising more and more questions about the negotiation process.
In an exclusive interview with 24 Channel, historian, politician, and diplomat Roman Bezsmertny harshly criticized the Ukrainian delegation and explained why, in his opinion, David Arakhamia should be immediately removed from the negotiations. He also assessed the Kremlin’s true intentions, the role of the U.S., the consequences of the strikes on Russian oil refineries, and the prospects for further agreements.
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Why Bezsmertny Called for David Arakhamia’s Removal from the Negotiating Team
I thought the meeting in Abu Dhabi would be lengthy and that the parties would be able to reach agreements on many issues. However, the main topic once again revolved around territories, and no concrete progress was reported. David Arakhamia stated that the Russians made tough demands, but at the same time, there is good momentum for finding a solution before the New Year. Do you share this optimism? What can we realistically expect?
The first thing I would do if I were in the government’s shoes would be to remove Arakhamia from the negotiating team. Let me explain why.
Kushner, in particular, knows very well what the Harvard School of Negotiation is all about. What did Kushner and Witkoff do? They used the so-called “step out onto the balcony” or “daydream” technique. And that’s when Arakhamia “got carried away.”
He was forced to think and talk about how he sees the situation “after the fact.” And he began to dream. So what the world press will be writing about tomorrow will, for the most part, be Arakhamia’s dreams.
I recommend that everyone take a close look at Serhiy Kyslytsia’s face. He’s already assessing these dreams, because in reality, we don’t know if this exchange will happen. The numbers that were discussed are, for now, just dreams and wishes. Most of this story, which was presented to us during the briefing, is based on assumptions about what will happen afterward.
As a reminder, during the negotiations in Abu Dhabi, Ukraine and Russia discussed the possibility of a large-scale prisoner exchange in a “1,000 for 1,000” or even “1,500 for 1,500” format. According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the American delegation is to present the proposals they’ve developed to the Russian side during their visit to Moscow. At the same time, the final decision depends on the Kremlin’s willingness to agree to such an exchange.
But we still have to make it to that “after” – we have to stand our ground and overcome all of this. This requires a solid case. That’s why, to be honest, I’m struck by just how little Arakhamia understands the path he was led down today.
It’s no coincidence that I insisted this “collective farm” must be shut down. Involving people in the negotiations who have absolutely no understanding of what it means to use retreats, step out onto the balcony, or indulge in daydreams only hinders our ability to grasp the current state of the negotiation process.
Why are Witkoff and Kushner in such a hurry to get to Moscow? They understand that the people who came from Moscow were nobodies who couldn’t make any decisions. After listening to Arakhamia’s pipe dreams, Witkoff and Kushner flew off to offer Putin a portion of those dreams, which they will now string together onto the framework outlined by Trump. And this will be yet another test for the Ukrainian delegation.
The day before, we heard a signal from Trump that Ukraine would take on a different shape. In response, the President of Ukraine stated that this delegation has no authority to discuss territorial issues. But, as is evident from the information that has begun to emerge, certain dreamers have already managed to dream up scenarios.
Moreover, some media outlets have reported that while the parties maintained hardline positions during the negotiations, behind the scenes they were already discussing certain scenarios.
This must not be allowed under any circumstances. When a delegation sets out for negotiations, it is given specific directives. If a participant in the negotiation process goes beyond these directives, they must be immediately removed from the negotiations. They simply do not realize what they are doing. Looking beyond the horizon is very dangerous.
Full interview with Bezsmertny: watch the video
Why Russia Reinstated Vladimir Medinsky to the Delegation
Regarding Arakhamia: The Anti-Corruption Center reported that the acting prosecutor general has failed for a week to comply with the court’s decision to open a case against him. In other words, a person who may be under investigation is heading to the negotiations. Do you have any questions about the composition of the Russian delegation? It seemed that after bringing in deputy foreign ministers and representatives of the General Staff, Moscow was taking things more seriously. Or is this just a facade for the negotiations?
Here, we must distinguish between the Ukrainian team, which represents a society learning democracy, and the totalitarian system. Therefore, the outward appearance, unfortunately, does not match the inner reality.
What defines the Russian, “Rashist” group is not who is in it, but who is leading it. It doesn’t matter what titles these people hold. None of these deputy foreign ministers or deputy chiefs of the General Staff are authorized to make any decisions. Only one person speaks on behalf of the delegation – Medinsky.
We are witnessing Medinsky’s return to this role. This means that Putin is reverting to simulating the negotiation process.
Medinsky is a demagogue who has been brought back into the delegation for one purpose only: to bombard everyone with analogies, musings, and historical references. He does not conduct negotiations; he engages in demagoguery.
It is important for the Ukrainian side to understand this and not fall for such traps, as this could prove very costly in terms of media coverage. Not to mention that the Ukrainian side completely failed in its public relations efforts on the very first day, when even Ukrainian media outlets used TASS footage to show what was happening.
Overall, it’s clear that Russia has returned to demagoguery. The Americans are rushing to the Kremlin to reach at least some kind of agreement with Putin. After all, if the stalemate drags on, there won’t even be an exchange. That’s why the American side is resorting to such a swift maneuver.
As for Medinsky himself, it seems he is sticking to a tactic of bullying and rudeness. He stated that the conflict has shown that the entire European security system, which has been in place since Yalta and Potsdam, is functioning very poorly. He hadn’t even left the negotiating room yet when he declared that one-fifth of Russian territory must be returned.
This demonstrates incredible contempt for Europeans. Medinsky is essentially asking, “What are the Europeans even doing at these negotiations? What is their status here?”
What does Russia’s attitude toward Europe indicate? Yesterday actually showed us what needs to be done and how. At the same time, it revealed a failure in this effort. When Russia declared that there could be no European representatives in the room, Ukraine should have responded that these events are taking place in Europe and are therefore Europe’s concern. Therefore, without Europe, there will be no negotiations.
After that, they should have stood up and walked out. Or better yet – done this: The presidium included not only members of the so-called “troika,” but also Alexus Grinkevich and the NATO Secretary General’s security advisor. In this situation, Ukraine should have added chairs and seated representatives from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy next to them.
And if the Russian delegation had started to protest, the response could have been: “Please leave; we’re not keeping you here.”
Both the Europeans and the Ukrainians should have behaved differently. That would have shut Medinsky up, since he is neither a diplomat nor a negotiator, but a demagogue and a provocateur.
He is included in the negotiating group so that he can stage provocations. And we must be able to prevent this. The Ukrainian delegation had two options: either go have coffee with the Europeans, or seat them next to them as members of the negotiating group and calmly continue the negotiations.
If Russia doesn’t want to – let it get out of there. All this pretense of agreements, created thanks to a tool the Americans used to daydream, has nothing to do with actually reaching agreements. These are dreams, a mirage, and nothing more.
What game, in Bezsmertny’s view, are Donald Trump’s representatives playing?
Most Ukrainians are surprised when Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, talks about Putin’s supposed wishes during the talks, as if he were speaking on Putin’s behalf. It doesn’t look like a neutral party. After the talks, he said, “We’re going to Moscow to meet with Putin and tell him what we discussed here today.” Why are they constantly going to see Putin? Are they hoping to convince him, or do they have to report to him? To what end?
Later on, Medinsky answered a question by saying that Europe can only negotiate if it behaves the way the Americans do. That’s why Kushner and Witkoff are rushing to once again call the Moscow criminal and murderer a humanist.
Therein lies the answer to the question. The Ukrainian delegation lacked the political will and understanding of the situation to simply cut through these demagogues and force them to flee the negotiations.
Only then would the Ukrainian side have been taken seriously, because it would have brought Europe into the process and wouldn’t have let the Americans run roughshod over them or let them daydream about anything. Based on these lies, which arose from Arakhamia’s fantasies, this passage: “You’ve inspired us so much here that we’ll carry it all the way through to New Year’s”…
What New Year? Wake up! These lies are now going to spread all over the world.
We must understand clearly: Moscow hasn’t budged an inch. Its agenda and objectives are clear – the destruction of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, and a return to the status quo of 1997.
Don’t look for anything constructive in these machinations – there isn’t any. This is simply a combination of the Americans’ mechanical use of negotiation tools and Medinsky’s demagoguery. That’s all.
Can Strikes on Russian Oil Refineries Change Putin’s Position?
Ukrainian economists and even Russian military correspondents are discussing the serious impact that strikes on oil refineries could have on Russia’s economy. In particular, they suggest that the destruction of 60% of oil refineries could undermine Putin’s position. Will this really force him to change his strategy?
We’ve discussed before that if potential export volumes drop to four million barrels per day, then we’ll have something to talk about. Currently, that figure stands at 3.8 million, if we’re to believe what’s being reported. But that’s just oil.
Ideally, the figures for liquefied natural gas would plummet in a similar way. The situation in Moscow is already very dire. But it’s wrong to attribute the negotiating team’s current behavior to these economic difficulties.
Putin couldn’t care less. He still has the capacity to squeeze every last drop out of what is known as “Rashist society.” This society still allows itself to be oppressed.
At the same time, Russia can no longer replenish its losses on the front lines with mobilized personnel. Today, as part of the Penza experiment, they cannot recruit 25,000 people, even though casualties total 52,000. They’ve even enlisted Moscow. They're putting pressure on Kitay-gorod every day, but they still only manage to recruit 25,000. The situation is the same in St. Petersburg.
This delegation is bringing maps to the negotiations that do not reflect reality. It’s a good thing Gnatov is there – he knows all this and says straight out: “What are you making up? You’re lying.” The Americans know this too, particularly Kushner and Witkoff. It’s obvious that the Moscow Führer is trying with his last ounce of strength to attack civilian infrastructure and target the civilian population. These are crimes.
And when, in the midst of such attacks, people claim that we’ve been led down the path to happiness, one wants to ask: “Where on earth are you? Where have you been all these months?” For nine months, Trump and Putin were plotting against Ukraine. This conspiracy has fallen apart in both Moscow and Washington, since the Republicans were thrown out along with Trump.
And in this situation, to come out and say that we’ve been led down the path to happiness is simply delusional. It’s a tool they’ll use to trap you in negotiations, forcing you to dream about the “after” scenario. Instead of laying out clear guidelines and strictly following them.
What scenarios are possible next, and will the “blue wave” in the U.S. affect them?
What scenarios might unfold next? Lukashenko is already telling Putin how good it is that Russian troops and equipment are stationed in Belarus on the western border with Europe. Could they once again push the idea of a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin in Minsk? Are these events connected?
We have to give credit to this “collective farm comrade” from Belarus. He has a very keen sense of the situation. He understands that right now it wouldn’t be a bad idea to approach the Moscow despot and try to impose a certain mechanism on him so that Europeans would start flying to Minsk again. That is absolutely unacceptable.
By the way, Alexander Lukashenko is trying to reach an agreement with the U.S. on the release of political prisoners in exchange for easing sanctions. During negotiations with Donald Trump’s special envoy John Cole, the Belarusian regime agreed to release 25 people, and in return, Washington lifted restrictions on a number of Belarusian companies, including “Lakofarba” and “Bellesbumprom.” At the same time, Lukashenko wants to secure further concessions from the West, but has no intention of ending the repression or changing his policy of rapprochement with Russia.
When I hear the argument that the president can meet anywhere – even in the Arctic – as long as it’s not in Moscow, I can name countries where the president of Ukraine cannot meet with that Moscow scum. These include North Korea, Belarus, Cuba, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Georgia. I could compile an entire encyclopedia of countries where such a meeting is simply unacceptable.
Every word here carries enormous weight. Lukashenko has realized that the situation could start moving forward, and he wants to take advantage of it.
Before the Trilateral Contact Group began its work in Minsk in 2014, there were four international flights a day to the city. Two months after the start of the negotiations, there were already 80. There you have the answer to the question of who Lukashenko is and how he’s riding the wind.
But even here, he was mistaken. After all, the Moscow despot must be kept under pressure. Ukraine is coping with the pain, grief, tears, and deaths. And it is doing so despite the betrayal of the Manhattan emperor.
Could a Democratic victory in the U.S. change the situation? Or is this Trump and Putin’s last-ditch attempt to create the appearance of negotiations and pressure Ukraine into peace on any terms?
Pay attention to one point. Yesterday’s joint statement by the Europeans, Ukraine, and the Americans includes a clause stating that all participants agreed: an agreement can be reached only on the basis of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Now go to Witkoff’s page. There, two additional paragraphs have been added to this statement, discussing the complexity of making territorial decisions and various other ambiguities.
Witkoff and Kushner used this meeting to save their own skins tomorrow. They’re not interested in substantive negotiations right now – they’re saving themselves and their boss. This must be taken into account when assessing everything that happened in Abu Dhabi.
The plan is to play it like this: let the Emiratis pay, while we just hang around and manage the process. Have you ever seen anything like this in diplomacy? We’ll hang around and call the shots, but the Emiratis will still foot the bill, because we don’t have enough funds – our pockets are empty.
This is actually a source of shame and disgrace for Trump, Witkoff, and Kushner. So everything here is clear. Everything that happened in Abu Dhabi is, to put it simply, a circus act on a tightrope and nothing more.
This interview has been condensed, corrected, and edited for better audience understanding.
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