"An 'energy truce' is unlikely": Media assess the implications of the meetings with Witkoff

Ahead of the U.S. congressional elections on November 3, the resumption of the negotiation process could be the best possible political outcome. This is according to “RBC-Ukraine,” which cites an informed source.

What could be the outcome?

The source noted that officials in Kyiv are skeptical about the prospect of a mutual cessation of attacks on energy infrastructure following Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Instead, the reactivation of the negotiation track could be considered a success.

Ideally, this would lead to a political agreement on some de-escalation measures. The Russians react negatively to the word “ceasefire”; they believe they currently hold the upper hand,
– the source said.

According to the source, in order to achieve a pause, basic steps are needed to restore trust, since the total lack of trust between the parties makes even the most basic processes impossible. In other words, even contact at the level of technical delegations – which previously could be organized within 48 hours – has now become a separate issue that is brought before the Security Council for discussion.

Therefore, the main idea is: let’s all calm down and try to transition to a managed process of achieving peace through negotiations,
– the source added.

At the same time, the source suggested that positive developments in the humanitarian sphere could occur sooner than in the political sphere, particularly regarding the situation in the temporarily occupied town of Oleshky.

What Will Happen After Witkoff’s Visit to Russia

After talks with Putin, Witkoff, according to the source, will hold a phone conversation with the Ukrainian side. Subsequently, the Ukrainian delegation will contact European security advisors to convey the latest information.

“If we can reach an agreement now to make a new meeting at the delegation level possible – say, in Abu Dhabi – we want everyone to be present there: not only us, the Americans, and the Russians, but also the Europeans, who have been actively involved in all recent contacts,”
the source concluded.

The talks between the American representative and the Russian dictator took place behind closed doors at the Konstantinovsky Palace. Jared Kushner also joined the meeting online.

Before his trip to Russia, Witkoff held meetings in Oslo with Ukrainian and European delegations. The parties discussed steps to organize trilateral talks. Once in St. Petersburg, Trump’s special representative stated that there were conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine.