To quote the fictional Professor Henry Higgins when he realized he’d grown unexpectedly fond of Eliza Dolittle:

“DAMN! DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!”

When U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would not be joining bilateral Ukraine-Russia meetings in Abu Dhabi scheduled for February 4-5, I had high hopes that a new, more qualified, team of negotiators was about to be appointed to carry on the continuing peace talks.

But, alas! It was not to be. On the first day of talks on Wednesday, lead Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov posted on X:

“Another round of negotiations has begun in Abu Dhabi. The negotiation process started in a trilateral format – Ukraine, the United States, and Russia. Next comes work in separate groups by specific tracks, after which a follow-up joint synchronization of positions is planned.” [RFE/RL, February 4, 2026.]

Following the first day’s session on Wednesday, no details were offered; but Umerov’s spokeswoman, Diana Davitian, told journalists that a second day of talks was planned to be held on Thursday. [Id.]

And then I read that “US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, along with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are representing the United States at the negotiations with Ukraine and Russia.” [Id.]

One brief, shining moment of hope, and then . . .

I’ve said it before: Two more hapless victims of Vladimir Putin’s duplicitous political machinations would be difficult to find . . . and he knows it. As long as Witkoff and Kushner continue as Donald Trump’s messengers, and Trump continues to control the U.S. and European narrative, this war will drag on, because that is what Putin wants.

Of course, I could be wrong. But we’ll see what happens in Thursday’s second-round meeting.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/5/26