As he prepares to take office, US President-elect Donald Trump said he hopes to meet with russian dictator vladimir putin “very soon” to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump expressed confidence that putin would be open to compromise, as the russian leader certainly cannot be “too enthusiastic about how the war is going,” The Telegraph reported.
Instead, Moscow sees these potential talks as a way to achieve its long-standing goal of subduing Ukraine, rather than achieving a genuine compromise. The Kremlin is seeking to exploit America’s desire for peace to help it achieve that goal, says Ivana Stradner, a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Despite Moscow’s claims of seeking peace, the Kremlin continues to make maximalist demands. In recent months, putin has repeatedly insisted that Ukraine must cede territory and abandon any hope of joining NATO. The russian leader has said that any deal must be based on a draft agreement negotiated in Istanbul in the spring of 2022.
“The Kremlin seeks to consolidate its battlefield gains by leaving Ukraine vulnerable to future russian aggression. Then russia will be free to intimidate its smaller neighbor, including in a potential follow-up war,” Stradner said.
Putin’s goal of dominating Ukraine will not change. He sees it as fundamental to russia’s place in the world and to his own legacy as a modern-day tsar. To anticipate putin’s next moves, Washington needs to understand how he thinks.
“The Kremlin does not believe that Trump’s coming to power will lead to a radical change in Washington’s perceived hostility toward russia. However, Moscow understands that Trump wants to be seen as a ‘deal maker’ who managed to end a conflict that his predecessor failed to resolve,” Stradner adds.
The new American President should focus on steps aimed at strengthening the leverage of the United States and Ukraine. He should impose more sanctions on russia and provide Ukraine with more weapons. Trump should not succumb to Moscow’s deceptions. No amount of dialogue will change putin’s ambitions, the author concluded.
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