Grigory Karasin sees possible new proposals from Ukraine talks

The head of the Russian Federation Council’s international affairs committee said Ukrainian and U.S. contacts could produce ideas for a settlement. He nevertheless expressed limited expectations for progress.

In comments published Oct. 9 and cited by Lenta.ru from Gazeta.ru, Grigory Karasin said Russian representatives could discuss reasonable proposals if U.S. negotiators decided to bring them to Moscow.

The senator suggested European representatives might join the discussion. He also argued that Ukraine faced economic, military and energy difficulties. Those remarks reflected Karasin’s assessment, rather than confirmed outcomes of the talks.

He linked his skepticism to what he described as the rejection of agreements reached in Anchorage. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were scheduled to meet Ukrainian negotiators in Miami on Oct. 9.

Later that day, Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was aware of U.S. contacts with Ukrainian representatives. Interfax reported that he considered an October visit by Witkoff and Kushner possible, while stressing that its timing remained uncertain.