Zelenskyy's Office Is Sceptical of Trump-Putin Meeting
It is necessary to refrain from exaggerated expectations from the meeting between US President Donald Trump and the Russian dictator in Alaska. It is obvious that Putin will try to use this opportunity to reformat bilateral relations between Moscow and Washington to his advantage. At the same time, Donald Trump is travelling to Anchorage to take a significant step towards peace, according to Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
The Gaze writes about this, referring to a broadcast on the FREEDOM TV channel.
Podolyak is convinced that the consolidated position of European leaders demonstrates absolute unity on the issue of ending the war and complete distrust of Russia.
‘We see in these positions an attitude towards Russia, complete distrust is synchronised today, no one trusts the Russian Federation, no one believes that it is ready to comply with certain agreements if it is not forced to do so,’ Podolyak emphasised.
In his opinion, this has a significant impact on Donald Trump's position. And we can already see certain changes in his rhetoric. But at the same time, it is worth refraining from exaggerated expectations from the meeting in Anchorage.
"I have no doubt that Putin will, of course, try to use this meeting to reformat bilateral relations between the United States and Russia to his advantage. That is, to make himself the dominant link by playing politics with Trump. Or, at the very least, to stall for time in order to reduce the United States' presence in Europe," said the adviser to the head of the Presidential Administration.
But all this is impossible because the goals of Russia and the United States ahead of the upcoming meeting in Alaska are radically different.
"Donald Trump is really going there to take a significant step towards peace. That is, it is obvious to the President of the United States that a truce is the main topic that should be discussed in Anchorage. And he talks about it. That is, he wants to agree that the Russians will stop killing, primarily civilians, and using an endless number of missiles and drones to attack Ukraine. But Putin has completely different goals," Podolyak said.
Putin's main goal is to end this war on his own terms, the speaker believes, and to show that he is still a global leader. Accordingly, the dictator wants to get out of the war without any political or financial losses.
"That is, the goals of the United States and Russia are radically different. And, of course, it is unlikely that they will be able to bring them closer together at the meeting in Alaska. Nevertheless, the meeting itself is a significant step towards ending the war. And regardless of the scenarios for ending the war, I think that the final outcome will, in any case, fully take into account Ukraine's interests. The positions that President Zelensky is talking about," the adviser to the head of the OPU emphasised.
Mykhailo Podolyak is also convinced that Ukraine's partners, including the Americans, clearly understand that the Russian Federation is not going to Alaska to try to end the war, but to prolong it for some time or to obtain the right to moderate the final outcome in a unilateral format.
As The Gaze reported earlier, European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have agreed on a set of joint principles for negotiations with Russia, which they presented to U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of his planned August 15 meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.