“According to experts, Russia is currently not making concessions regarding the end of the conflict.”, — write: www.unian.ua
Experts believe that the war in Ukraine is a personal prestige for Putin / photo 39 separate coastal defense brigadeUS President Donald Trump wants to quickly end the war in Ukraine, but his wish turned out to be impossible and will probably remain so, because the Kremlin does not want to give up its goals in the war. Foreign Policy writes about it.
It is known that on October 22, the Trump administration made its last move – it introduced sanctions against the largest Russian oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil, striking one of the largest sources of income of the Russian Federation.
“However, the Kremlin is not giving in: the next day, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded that Moscow would not change its position in the negotiations. Russia opposed a ceasefire on the current front lines and instead insisted on wider concessions as a precondition for ending the war. Among its main goals is control over the Donetsk region, which it has not been able to conquer, despite more than three years of efforts and tens of thousands of victims,” the article emphasized.
As Foreign Policy writes, the sanctions are the result of a previous attempt to appease the Russian Federation with economic agreements and the lifting of restrictions during the meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska. Also, this approach did not lead to a significant agreement, because Russia refused to agree to a ceasefire.
Director of the “Europe, Russia and Eurasia” program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Max Bergmann, believes that neither the “gingerbread” nor the “whip” at Trump’s disposal can quickly solve the problem of war.
“There is no quick solution to this problem,” the expert emphasized.
According to him, this is partly due to the fact that the war is a matter of personal prestige for Putin.
“It’s about Vladimir Putin’s place in history. He wants to be Vladimir the Great. And how can he be Vladimir the Great if the war ends tomorrow?” Bergmann noted.
At the same time, Laura Cooper, who worked on Russia and Ukraine policy at the US Department of Defense under the Biden administration, added that the Russian dictator’s efforts to convince his own population of the need for war is another factor.
“You have to understand how much Putin invested in this war and how much he invested in convincing his population that this war should be successful,” she said.
In addition, according to Cooper, the Trump administration’s pressure on Ukraine, including the suspension of military aid to Ukraine, could also have prompted Putin to think that he should not take the US threats seriously.
“It was a miscalculation on the part of the USA,” the expert assured.
Also complicating the negotiations is the fact that for Russia the territory is only part of its military objectives, according to Andrew Peek, who served as senior director for European and Russian affairs at the National Security Council until he left that post in May.
He emphasized that among the main issues for the Russian Federation are:
- the desire to obtain the territory of Ukraine;
- concerns about Ukraine’s security alliances, such as Kyiv’s interest in joining NATO and its insistence on Western security guarantees;
- the future composition of the armed forces of Ukraine.
It is known that earlier in Russia they insisted that Ukraine reduce its army to 85,000 soldiers and limit its missiles to those with a range of 40 km.
“During the last six months, the Russians have demonstrated a certain flexibility in the issue of territory,” Peak emphasized, recalling reports of Russia’s readiness to abandon its claims to the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine.
However, he added that Russia has not made any concessions regarding security guarantees from Ukraine’s Western partners.
“This is a political decision, and I cannot name specific terms when the Russians will adopt it – I think it will take some time,” he noted, emphasizing that Ukraine and Russia have also made little progress on the issue of the future military composition of Ukraine.
According to Peak, the last point is very important for Ukraine.
“They should be ready for any future conflict,” the expert said.
Bergmann and Cooper add that a more successful strategy would be to put pressure on the Russian Federation economically and militarily.
That would include more sanctions, increased military aid to Ukraine and plans to strengthen Ukraine’s post-war military to deter future Russian aggression, Cooper added.
“Russians should feel that they are losing, and also that Ukraine is succeeding,” she concluded.
Trump and the war in Ukraine – the latest newsEarlier, Donald Trump said that he thought that ending the war in Ukraine would be the easiest task for him because of his “warm relationship with Putin.” However, he assured that this will still be achieved.
At the same time, the US president emphasized that the war in Ukraine will be the ninth that he will settle. In particular, he recalled that he managed to complete eight wars.
“I have settled eight wars, and the ninth is approaching. I believe that this will happen in the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump assured.
He also emphasized the importance of peace agreements, which, in his opinion, save millions of lives and strengthen the international reputation of the United States.
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