Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy claimed Washington and Moscow were close to a “diplomatic solution” to the war in Ukraine, estimating that the conflict would end within a year.
Speaking before an investment conference in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Kirill Dmitriev suggested that Russia’s invasion was nearing its end despite the recent decision to postpone a second summit between Putin and President Trump.
“We are sure that we are on the road to peace and as peacemakers we need to make it happen,” Dmitriev said, adding that he believes the war would end within one year.
The war in Ukraine has dragged on for more than three years, with Moscow repeatedly refusing to make any compromises as Putin seeks to conquer the regions that have fended off his invasion force so far.
While little headway has been made in trying to secure a diplomatic end to the war, Russia has focused some of its efforts on dissuading the US and the West from supporting Ukraine.
Dmitriev was notably in the US over the weekend as part of a public relations campaign aimed at schmoozing top Trump officials.
George Barros, of the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, told The Post that Dmitriev’s visit was part of a coordinated move from the Kremlin to convince the US it should be a close ally with Russia — all while Putin attempted to scare the West with boasts of Moscow’s “flying Chernobyl” missile.
Dmitriev reiterated his pitch for US-Russian unity during his appearance in Saudi Arabia, touting the two nations as ones who should help secure world peace rather than sow division.
“People are right now focused on the regional conflict that exists around Russia, but we do not want it to escalate into a bigger conflict,” the Kremlin official said. “And for that we have to do better than we have been doing, not worse.”
Peace talks between the US, Ukraine, and Russia have been on freeze since Trump announced last week that he would not be holding a second in-person summit with Putin.
With Post wires
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