In Washington, a meeting was held between Steve Withoff, the US President’s Special Representative, and Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. Officially, this encounter is linked to the preparation of a possible trilateral summit involving the leaders of Ukraine, the US, and Russia. However, in reality, active preparations for such a meeting are currently not underway.
The US President had previously raised the possibility of such a summit, but later a bilateral meeting was considered, and now even that is delayed. Developments mostly follow the Russian scenario, with Russia emphasizing step-by-step preparation and initial work by expert groups.
A bilateral meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia is expected only if there is significant progress at the delegation level, after which US involvement might follow. Against this backdrop, the United States is neither increasing sanctions against Russia nor expanding military aid to Ukraine, effectively creating a situation that avoids putting additional pressure on Russia.
Ukraine’s interest is to keep this issue on the international agenda and maintain focus on strengthening sanctions and military support. Besides Yermak’s visit to Washington, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are also set to engage with Trump, urging for stronger joint sanctions.
Meanwhile, Russia maintains its firm position: its representatives reiterate demands for so-called “denazification” and “demilitarization” of Ukraine, rights for the Russian-speaking population, and recognition of the annexation of Ukrainian territories. These demands have not changed since the beginning of the war.
Thus, there has been no real progress in the negotiation process, and the main goal of Ukraine and its partners remains to sustain and strengthen military and sanctions support to pressure Russia.
