Zelensky Says Ukraine Is Aware of US-Russia Economic Discussions

Ukraine is aware of the content of various discussions between US and Russian authorities, but has no intentions of making the details public yet, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Zelensky made the remarks while speaking to reporters on Thursday, Oct. 8, in response to a question about which economic agreements Washington and Moscow are discussing.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “We know a lot… about various dialogues, but I am simply not ready to talk about them publicly and in detail,” Zelensky said, according to Ukrinform. Although the President did not specify which discussions he was referring to, his comments came hours after Reuters reported – citing five anonymous sources familiar with the matter, including a White House official – that US and Russia had discussed bringing an American investor into the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Nord Stream reportedly discussed According to Reuters, the talks involved senior US special envoy Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and Kirill Dmitriev, a close adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kushner reportedly sees business deals as key to securing a possible settlement. Earlier in September, the two envoys visited both Moscow and Kyiv in an effort to broker an end to Russia’s war, which reached a deadlock over irreconcilable differences between Ukraine’s and Russia’s demands, including Moscow’s proposals that Kyiv cedes its sovereignty as part of a peace settlement. Other Topics of Interest Trump Envoys in Talks With Putin’s Money Man Over Russian Gas, Reports Say A White House official said any gas deal must benefit US taxpayers, while Germany stated that reopening the sanctioned pipelines remains unwanted. Although all three sides – the US, Ukraine and Russia – described the negotiations as productive and positive, the Kremlin consistently rejects proposals for a ceasefire and has increased its strikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure since. Dmitriev, Russia’s envoy who heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund and has long pushed for Russian gas exports to Germany to resume, has emerged as one of Moscow’s main points of contact with the Trump administration. Late September, he headed to New York to meet with the Trump administration, with the agenda previously agreed upon with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Diplomacy remains stalled Earlier on Thursday, during a visit to Pryluky, where a Russian missile strike killed 22 people the previous day, Zelensky questioned how Washington and Moscow could discuss future economic projects while efforts to end the war remain stalled. He also announced that a Ukrainian delegation would travel to the US for talks on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9-10, and called on Trump to increase pressure on Russia. Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly argued that Moscow shows no real willingness towards ending the war, pointing to the repeated strikes on Ukrainian cities. During the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York held late September, 51 countries signed a joint statement urging Russia to accept an immediate, unconditional ceasefire. However, the Kremlin has rejected and mocked every such proposal so far. During the same summit in New York, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated that Moscow would not pause its “special military operation” – a term Russia uses to downplay the war in Ukraine, currently in its fifth year – even during negotiations. He also claimed that Ukraine would have kept its 1991 borders if the European nations had not “engaged in their shenanigans.” The comment came just a month after Ukraine marked its 35th Independence Day. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.