Though he has been called “Washington’s least popular man” in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov had a big-name dining companion for lunch Thursday at Cafe Milano in Georgetown: former U.S. envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad. The two were hosted by Dimitri Simes, president and CEO of the Center for the National Interest.
A POLITICO reporter was at a neighboring table, overheard much ofthe conversation, and took notes on what was said.
The Russian ambassador agreed when Khalilzad said “we need an agreement” to end the war between Ukraine and Russia. When discussing the prospect of a peace deal, Antonov asked Khalilzad, “What would [the U.S.] like us to give up?” Khalilzad suggested that Antonov have dinner with the Ukrainian ambassador. In an apparent reference to Russia’s false claims that neo-Nazis are running Ukraine, Antonov asked Khalilzad: “You have a lot of Jewish guys in the United States. Why are they so tolerant of what’s happening in Kyiv?”
