Putin wants to benefit as much as possible from Trump’s desire for peace deal - NYT
US leader Donald Trump says he is focused on "stopping the death march" in Ukraine "as soon as possible". However, for dictator Putin, negotiations with the US on a ceasefire are a means to achieve much broader goals.
This was reported by The New York Times, Censor.NET informs.
On 24 March, US and Russian officials meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss a ceasefire. While Ukraine declared its readiness for a complete ceasefire, Putin made it clear that he would first seek a wide range of concessions.
"The Kremlin appears determined to squeeze as many benefits as possible from Mr. Trump’s desire for a Ukraine peace deal, even as it slow-walks the negotiations. Viewed from Moscow, better ties with Washington are an economic and geopolitical boon — one that may be achieved even as Russian missiles continue pounding Ukraine," the publication writes.
What are Putin's goals?
Interviews with senior Russian foreign policy officials at a security conference in India revealed that the Kremlin sees negotiations on Ukraine and ties with the United States as going in two separate directions. The Kremlin dictator continues to seek a far-reaching victory in Ukraine, but at the same time, he is indulging Trump's desire for a ceasefire to take advantage of the thaw in relations with Washington, the article says.
Vyacheslav Nikonov, a deputy chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the lower house of the Russian Parliament, said that Trump and Putin were developing a "bilateral agenda" that was "not connected to Ukraine."
"Ukraine is running its course. The offensive is ongoing. But I think that for Putin, relations with America are more important than the question of Ukraine specifically," he said.
Russia probably thinks that engaging with Trump could open up economic benefits for Moscow. These include, for example, spare parts for Russian Boeing aircraft, and geopolitical benefits as broad as reduction in NATO's presence in Europe. It is unclear, however, whether Trump will use these hopes as leverage to get a better deal for Ukraine, and whether he will at some point lose patience with Putin.
"Putin seems to be pulling out all the stops to hold Mr. Trump’s interest," the authors of the material added.
However, the journalists point out that Putin has shown no signs of abandoning his far-reaching goals of guaranteeing Ukraine's non-membership in NATO, rejecting the Western alliance in Central and Eastern Europe, limiting the Armed Forces and exercising a certain level of influence over Ukraine's domestic politics, the NYT writes.
