The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is attempting to revive the process of negotiating a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine that, among other things, envisages significant concessions in favor of the Kremlin. This includes easing sanctions and resuming the supply of Russian gas to Europe, including via Nord Stream, The Economist reports, according to UNN.
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Under this plan, Ukraine would instead have to abandon its course toward NATO, but could allegedly join the European Union and receive an investment package.
At the same time, this initiative is controversial, since the United States cannot independently decide the fate of European energy markets, while the resumption of Russian gas supplies contradicts European Union legislation.
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Oleksii Buriachenko, president of the International Institute for Security Studies, said in a comment to UNN that only the Kremlin is interested in possible trilateral talks involving Russia, the United States and China. In particular, this would be aimed at raising the possibility of resolving Russia’s war against Ukraine without the participation of Kyiv and Europe. For the United States and China, other issues remain priorities.
According to him, the possibility of trilateral talks arose against the backdrop of preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which is scheduled to take place in China this year.
In the expert’s view, the summit’s location creates conditions for a potential meeting between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, but does not mean that Russia’s war against Ukraine will become the main topic of the talks, because, according to the expert’s assessment, the initiative to discuss it in this format is primarily beneficial to Moscow.
Despite the U.S. steps toward Russia, Vladimir Putin has so far not agreed to any significant concessions regarding the end of the war against Ukraine. The only thing Washington has managed to achieve is the possibility of resuming negotiations.
To remind you
The Russian authorities launched a covert influence campaign to shape public opinion and undermine Democrats and Republicans who sympathize with Ukraine ahead of the U.S. elections.