According to Budanov, a meeting of the delegations of the warring countries may take place in September. "I hope so, yes. And with the Americans [as mediators], of course. We can't do without them," he said. The last negotiations between Russia and Ukraine took place on February 17–18 in Geneva. The parties were unable to reach an agreement on territories and security guarantees. A representative of the Swiss Foreign Ministry informed Vedomosti about the readiness to provide a platform again. The ministry emphasized that it supports any diplomatic initiatives aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace and is in contact with all parties. For its part, the Kremlin stated that it does not have information on specific plans and timelines for the next round of negotiations with Ukraine. At the same time, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Russia is open to continuing the dialogue and is not ceasing to discuss this issue with the Americans. The day before, sources close to the Kremlin told Bloomberg that President Vladimir Putin is preparing for an escalation of the war, as he considers the situation with negotiations to be deadlocked. In particular, he plans to intensify strikes with ballistic missiles on Kyiv and infrastructure facilities in other Ukrainian cities. At the same time, more and more Russian officials fear that Putin may use tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine as a last resort, the agency's sources said. On August 25, the head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), John Ratcliffe, unexpectedly flew to Moscow. Sources from The Wall Street Journal claimed that the purpose of the visit was to warn Putin against escalation. According to Ukrainian media, among other things, the CIA chief discussed a mutual Russian-Ukrainian moratorium on strikes on energy facilities and ports, as well as a ceasefire in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions as steps toward peace, The Moscow Times reports.
