Trump’s desire to meet Putin shows that the US is not ready to withdraw from peace talks / day

It has already been reported that the US president said on Friday in Abu Dhabi that he would like to meet with a Russian dictator as soon as it could be organized. Trump has repeatedly expressed its readiness to go to Turkey to join the first direct Russian and Ukrainian peace talks, insisting that nothing will move forward in Ukraine until he is with Putin.

The expert emphasized that rhetoric about the possible withdrawal of peace talks in the US as an additional threat element to motivate both Ukraine and Russia to invest in the negotiations. In his view, looking at the medium or longer period if the talks between Russia and Ukraine will not be successful in a few months and there is no other tension in international policy in which the US will need to be involved, it is not excluded that the US will slowly focus on other conflicts and Ukraine will begin to pay less and less attention.

Asked why there was no talk of Putin and Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensk, the director of the Center for Policy Research in Eastern Europe said that Russia is still not perceived by diplomatic talks with Ukraine as a way to reach a war solution. In his view, Russia sees that it can be achieved enough through military tools while maintaining conversations as a potential possibility that can be returned to.

« For Russia, talks are important to create the impression of interest, realizing that this is an important point for Trump and his administration. Russia, showing importance, is trying to maintain the possibility of dialogue with the US, » said Cepuritis.

Speaking of what Russia is trying to achieve in this way, the expert called for a look at Russia’s original goals. In his opinion, Russia is interested in Ukraine to follow Russia’s foreign policy course and make foreign policy decisions that are appropriate to its interests. Russia wants Ukraine to maintain a close relations with Russia and adhere to neutrality, namely NATO.

« Russia also wants the most small number of Ukrainian armed forces as possible to use military instruments to influence Ukraine in the future in Ukraine.

He stated that in the interests of US Russia, it was not to cause a negative reaction from Trump or other representatives of the US administration. Therefore, Russia is also seeking to show that it is ready to engage in the negotiations, but the level of negotiating delegations, Putin’s refusal to participate in negotiations and Russia’s statements before the negotiations in Turkey show that Ukraine is imposed on unenforceable demands and, before the conversation has actually begun.

Asked how Putin’s abandonment of direct talks with Zelenski could affect the position of other countries, Cepurītis noted that, for example, the United Kingdom and France are not directly involved in these talks, but more supporting Ukraine. Similarly, European powers tend to create additional pressure towards Russia. For example, before the talks in Turkey, it was said that if Russia did not invest in the negotiations, the European powers could update further discussions on increasing sanctions.

« Pressure against Russia appears, perhaps even better than talking to Russia above Ukrainian heads, but in this case, Britain, France and other countries emphasize that Ukraine should be involved in the talks primarily, because they best know what Ukraine is most needed for Russia to have a potential in potential negotiations.

Speaking of how these peace talks could develop in the next few months, the hat admitted that nothing would change radically – war will continue, and in parallel, attempts would be made to develop talks in various formats – directly between Russia and Ukraine or indirectly between Russia and the United States, the US and Ukraine. In his view, it is not excluded that the war in Ukraine will enter a frozen conflict phase, possibly any agreements will be reached, but the actual opposition and the conflict between the two countries will not be terminated.

« The circumstances could resemble those after 2014, when two Minsk agreements were reached to settle the situation in eastern Ukraine – the agreement was, but in fact nothing was fulfilled, » the expert said.