Western officials consider Budanov effective negotiator - Bloomberg
The head of the Office of the President, Kyrylo Budanov, the main Ukrainian negotiator with Russia, is seen by Western officials as effective in conducting peace negotiations.
Bloomberg stated this in an article, after conversation with Budanov and several sources in different circles, according to Ukrinform.
"Western officials say Budanov has proven effective in talks with Russia, maintaining a back channel to Moscow and strong contacts in the Gulf, where the negotiations were hosted before the US-Israeli war on Iran caused them to be paused," the publication writes.
According to several officials close to the Kremlin, Russian representatives also respect Budanov as a war hero.
Other Bloomberg sources note that Budanov "is also said by officials to be liked within President Donald Trump's administration," in particular from Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff. The head of the Office of the President described his relations with the United States as "good" in an interview with Bloomberg, but did not specify whom he communicates with most often in the White House.
He himself calls himself a pragmatist and says his negotiations with Russians focus on "language, numbers, facts, dates — everything else doesn't matter."
Publicly, the head of the Office of the President avoids derogatory statements about the enemy, noting that they are also pragmatic, professional, and "also know very well how to negotiate." "Everyone understands the real situation. They have precise data — maps, numbers, calculations, how long resources will last, what it will cost," Budanov said, refusing to go into details.
"In the worst case, they would be removed and executed… And that would only weaken our position. Because those who come next — even if they might want to achieve something — would look at what happened to their predecessors and never agree to anything," he noted.
Journalists also did not avoid the question of Budanov's political ambitions, but he avoided a direct answer. "It is too early to think about that now. What's at stake is the survival and existence of the state. What politics can there be when the situation is like this?" Budanov replied.
As Ukrinform reported, the head of the Office of the President Kirill Budanov said that strikes on Russian oil terminals affect the negotiation process and predicted "many new things" from the Russians in upcoming negotiations.
On April 9, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that a trilateral meeting on ending the war in Ukraine would take place soon. The format of this meeting has not yet been finally determined.