After gathering Donald Trump first with Vladimir Putin and later with Volodymyr Zelenski and the leaders of European states, the president of the United States said that the next step is to talk to the dictator of Russia. However, the situation is complicated.
Putin avoids gathering Zelenski
Russian abroad Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed respective times in fresh days that there are presently no plans for the gathering of Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenski at the time expected by the American President. Lavrov's words are most likely aimed at a direct explanation of the Kremlin's position of Western public opinion.
The head of the Russian MFA in an interview with the American station NBC News informed that the gathering of Zelenski with Putin "is not planned". – Putin is ready to meet Zelenski erstwhile the agenda of a possible summit is prepared, and this agenda is not ready at all," said the Russian abroad Minister.
He added: – president Putin clearly said he was ready for the meeting, provided that this gathering would indeed have a circumstantial program, a presidential program. Lavrow suggested that Ukraine was blocking advancement towards a peace agreement.
That's how war experts look at it.
As Lavrow pointed out, after a gathering in Alaska, Donald Trump suggested respective points that were shared by Russia and in any of them they agreed to "show any flexibility."
The Institute for War Studies is now assessing that the Kremlin is struggling with a hard compromise: it must at the same time satisfy the Russian public, who expects Russia's full triumph in Ukraine, and halt further US sanctions that could weaken Moscow's ability to carry out war. The Kremlin is so to fear the negative impact of the gathering on Putin's image.
Importantly, on Thursday Russia carried out 1 of the largest air strikes on Ukraine since the start of the war. The goal was, among another things, the plants of a large American electronics maker in the west of the country.
