Expert Explains Why Zelenskyy-Putin Meeting May Not Happen at All, and Names the Reason
Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to dare to hold a summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Moscow will drag out negotiations with Kyiv, in particular to delay sanctions. In addition, Ukraine and Russia have diametrically opposed positions on a peaceful settlement, according to Dr. Igor Petrenko, a political scientist.
The Gaze writes about it, referring to a broadcast on the FREEDOM TV channel.
A number of Western media outlets, citing a source in the US presidential administration, reported that a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin could take place in Hungary within two weeks.
"The meeting could take place much earlier, but what will be the outcome? We have the precedent of the meeting between Trump and Putin. What was the outcome? Apart from Trump saying it was a 10 out of 10, he never explained what that meant or what real agreements were made, or what benefits he could get. This isn't even about Ukraine, but about bilateral relations with the Russian Federation. And now we have diametrically opposed positions of Ukraine and the Russian Federation," the speaker noted.
The differences between Russia and Ukraine on the settlement of the war concern key aspects: territorial integrity, the status of the occupied territories, and security guarantees for Ukraine.
‘There is absolutely no constructive approach or point where we can somehow agree. And therefore, the meeting that will take place, whether it is in two weeks or even tomorrow, will consist of the parties simply presenting their views and ’red lines". And then the question is, where will they go from there, how will they come closer together — that is the main question. As a rule, meetings at the leadership level take place when groups of advisers are already working on a specific solution. And when the leaders meet, they shake hands and say that this is how they will proceed and move forward. In our case, this is not the case," the political scientist noted.
Russia demands that Ukraine cede all of the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Kyiv has no intention of giving up its territories to Moscow as part of a peace agreement.
“So far, all the efforts of US President Donald Trump and his vision are based on the idea that if a meeting at the leadership level takes place, it will lead to some progress. I disagree with this approach and do not see how it could significantly affect the positions that both sides currently hold. Here, coercion must be applied to the Russian Federation. We are backed by international law, the Constitution of Ukraine, common sense, and the coexistence of states. The Russian Federation does not have such a position. It is under pressure, but not enough to influence and change the position of the Russian Federation," Petrenko said.