Updated 23.16 | Published 22.58
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full screenUkrainian soldiers train near the front. Photo: AP
The situation looks dark when Trump tries to end the war in Ukraine.
This is the view of the independent Russian political scientist Ivan Preobrazhensky:
– Putin is not ready for any serious negotiations, not even on terms favorable to him.
First, Donald Trump talked about ending the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Now he says it’s about six months.
But several experts like it interviewed by the Russian exile newspaper Important Stories believes that it will be difficult to get Putin on a peace accord, as he sees the Russian army as having the upper hand on the battlefield and steadily advancing, albeit slowly.
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1 / 2Photo: AP
Russian independent political scientist Ivan Preobrazhensky, branded a “foreign agent” by Russia and now living in the Czech Republic, says:
– In Putin’s entourage there is a fairly large group that tries to convince him that Russia needs at least a truce. But I am convinced that Putin is not ready for any serious negotiations to end the war on any terms whatsoever, not even on terms favorable to him.
Emily Harding, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, agrees:
– Putin believes that the war is going his way, and he sees few reasons to agree to a peace settlement. He believes that time is on his side.
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full screen Vladimir Putin. Photo: AP
“Living in a dream world”
The Ukrainians are not prepared for major concessions either, says Ukrainian political scientist Aleksej Golobutsky to Important Stories:
– Anyone who believes in negotiations based on the demand that the Russians back down to the 1991 borders is living in a dream world. Even to the borders that applied on February 24, 2022. However, it would be possible with some kind of exchange of the parts of the Kursk area that the Ukrainian army controls against, for example, the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya. The Ukrainian people are in on such a variant. A part of the population believes that it would be treason, but a majority agrees.
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full screen Donald Trump has promised to end the war quickly. Photo: AP
“Doesn’t seem to have a plan”
Regarding Donald Trump’s plan for upcoming negotiations, Western-based Russian historian Alexandra Filippenko says:
– It doesn’t seem like Trump has a plan. Not until very recently has he understood the difficulties. He still doesn’t know himself how to approach the negotiations, says Filippenko to Important Stories.
In a statement from the Kremlin on Monday, the Russian president says he is ready to negotiate on Ukraine with Trump:
– We see his declarations about the necessity to do everything to avoid a third world war. We welcome such an attitude and welcome the President-elect of the United States upon his assumption of office, Putin said according to the exiled Russian newspaper Meduza.
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full screen Photo: AP