Kremlin searches for mediators in Ukraine-Russia negotiations – ISW

Kremlin officials are probably attempting to influence the global efforts for peace mediation in the war against Ukraine while also showcasing the Russian Federation's unwillingness to participate in good-faith negotiations with Ukraine.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that.

According to American analysts, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on September 9 during the Cooperation Council meeting for Russian and Persian Gulf countries in Saudi Arabia.

Russia's foreign ministry said Lavrov had discussed the war in Ukraine with Vieira and Jaishankar but gave no details.

It is worth noting that since May, Brazil and the People's Republic of China have been promoting their six-point "Political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis" peace plan, the key principles of which are favorable to Russia.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in particular, recently confirmed India's support for peace in Ukraine based on international law principles, such as respect for states' territorial integrity and sovereignty.

However, Lavrov repeated the Kremlin's clichéd narratives that demonstrate Russia's reluctance to negotiate in good faith with Ukraine, claiming that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace formula, which is indeed based on the principles of international law, is an "ultimatum" and that the Russian Federation has never seriously considered this plan.

It should be noted that Ukrainian officials openly invited the Russian representative to participate in Ukraine's second peace summit, which will be held this year.

ISW key findings for September 9:

• The Kremlin leveraged Russian regional elections from September 6 to 8 to integrate trusted Russian military veterans of the war in Ukraine into the Russian government, likely as part of an ongoing attempt to appease Russian servicemembers, boost domestic support for the war, and build out a cadre of Kremlin-affiliated local officials.
• The Kremlin refrained from replacing Acting Kursk Region Governor Alexei Smirnov during the Russian regional elections, likely in support of an ongoing effort to downplay the societal impacts of Ukraine's incursion into the Kursk region.
• Ukrainian officials continue to warn that Russian forces are increasingly using chemical weapons in Ukraine.
• Russian forces recently regained lost positions in the Kursk region amid continued Ukrainian offensive operations in the area on September 9.
• Russian forces recently advanced along the Kupiansk-Svatove line, near Siversk, near Pokrovsk, and southwest of Donetsk City, and Ukrainian troops recently regained positions near Siversk.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin expanded Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov's powers on September 9 by allowing him to grant eligible parties within the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) access to Russian state secrets (classified information).

For reference:

A peace summit convened in Switzerland to discuss the implementation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's proposed "peace formula." Attendees included representatives from approximately 100 countries and international organizations, who later signed a joint communique.

Currently, Ukraine is planning to hold the second peace summit on the territory of Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the Republic of South Africa supported the alternative plan for ending Ukraine's war with Russia, which China and Brazil previously proposed. Earlier, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, responded to African leaders regarding peace negotiations with Russia.

According to Zelensky, Ukraine will "hold" the captured territory in the Kursk region, as he believes this territory is an integral part of his "victory plan" to end the war.