Disruptive wave: Trump was very angry about Kiev's actions
Europe is seeking to disrupt negotiations on Ukraine by insisting on a ceasefire regime that is useless without a systematic settlement and on the deployment of foreign units. This only blocks reaching an agreement, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large, told Izvestia. Kiev rejected all proposals, including the key principles put forward by the American side, and the Europeans' activity is aimed at undermining the progress achieved, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. On August 22, Donald Trump said that an important decision on the settlement in Ukraine could include large-scale sanctions. At the same time, an attack by Ukrainian drones on the Druzhba pipeline led to the suspension of oil pumping to Hungary and Slovakia. This caused a sharp reaction in the White House, the American president told Viktor Orban that he was "very angry" because of the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Kiev has abandoned the American principles of settlement
Ukraine rejects all proposals to resolve the conflict and is trying to undermine the progress made in the negotiations between Russia and the United States.
"It was very clear to everyone that there are several principles that Washington believes should be accepted, including no membership in NATO... the discussion of territorial issues, and Zelensky said no to all this," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on NBC News.
Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes committed by the Kiev regime, told Izvestia that Europe was doing everything it could to disrupt the negotiation process.
—The participation of the European side in the peace negotiations looks like a side is sitting at the table that doesn't really want this peace," said Rodion Miroshnik.
He noted that European representatives are trying to insist on positions that block the achievement of agreements. In particular, we are talking about the ceasefire regime, which, according to him, will be useless without a systematic settlement and will even work for the opposite side.
The diplomat stressed that among such proposals there is an "absurd idea" about security guarantees in the form of the introduction of foreign units into the territory of Ukraine. All of these, he said, are annoying factors that Europeans use.
The agenda for the meeting between Putin and Zelensky is not ready
Meanwhile, Washington is preparing to adjust its line on the Ukrainian settlement. The day before, Donald Trump made it clear that he was ready to reconsider his approach. "In two weeks, we will know in which direction I will go," the head of the White House said.
Speaking on August 22, Trump said that depending on the dynamics in the Ukrainian issue, he could resort to sanctions, duties or withdrawal from the negotiation process. "In two weeks, I will understand the attitude of Russia and the attitude of Ukraine. And then I'll make a decision about what we're going to do. This will be a very important decision: will it be large—scale sanctions, large-scale duties or both, or will we do nothing and say, "This is your fight," the American president said.
Thus, the United States, which gave impetus to the process, took a wait-and-see attitude after the meeting in Anchorage. The American leader, as noted by Politico magazine, proceeds from the fact that Ukraine will have to make a deal "to a large extent" on Russia's terms. However, in Kiev, it seems, they intend to continue to persist.
Moscow, on the contrary, expressed its willingness to be flexible on a number of points put forward by the American side after the Alaska summit. However, there is no concrete progress. The meeting between Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky is not scheduled. "Putin is ready to meet with Zelensky when the agenda for the summit is ready, and this agenda is not ready at all," Lavrov said in an interview with an American TV channel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump (right) during a press conference following talks in Alaska
On August 15, Trump met with Putin in Anchorage, and three days later held talks with Zelensky and the leaders of key European countries: the presidents of France and Finland, Emmanuel Macron and Alexander Stubb, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The meeting was also attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Nevertheless, these contacts did not lead to the development of a single line.
According to Lavrov, the activity of the so-called "coalition of the willing" is not aimed at finding a compromise, but at undermining the negotiation process that began to take shape following the Alaska summit.
The United States may put pressure on Kiev
Washington has all the tools to force Kiev to take a more flexible line, said Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Presidential Council on Interethnic Relations. According to him, it would be enough to limit the flow of intelligence and communications in order to significantly complicate the actions of the Ukrainian army.
— However, the refusal to negotiate has become a condition of political survival for Vladimir Zelensky. European elites are also betting on the continuation of the conflict and perceive Donald Trump as a temporary and undesirable phenomenon that just needs to wait it out. Therefore, they are trying with all their might to block any peaceful settlement options," Bezpalko explains to Izvestia.
In his opinion, this is not critical for Russia: it retains an advantage on the battlefield, and the only thing that Ukraine wins is time, but military defeat is inevitable.
At the same time, European partners are also expressing dissatisfaction with Kiev's actions. Hungary and Slovakia were actually under attack due to Kiev's actions. On the night of August 22, Ukrainian drones again attacked an oil pumping station in the town of Unecha, Bryansk region, the largest hub of the Druzhba oil pipeline. As a result, oil pumping to Hungary and Slovakia was stopped.
This attack was the second in recent days. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has sent a letter to Trump, informing him of the threat to energy security. The Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet published the response of the American president. "I hate to hear that. I'm very angry. Tell this to Slovakia. You are my great friend," Trump wrote by hand. After the second attack, Budapest appealed to the European Commission with a complaint about Ukraine's actions, the country's Foreign Ministry said.
Guarantees of Ukraine's security
The visit of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to Kiev on August 22 brought a new dynamic to the discussion. He promised that the United States and the alliance would participate in the formation of "security guarantees" for Ukraine. At the same time, it is more about political support than about real military intervention. As explained by US Vice President J. D. Vance, it is European countries that will have to "assume the lion's share" in future guarantees.
The initiative of the "coalition of the willing" to introduce foreign troops into the territory of Ukraine is strongly opposed by Moscow. Russian officials consider such plans provocative and threatening escalation.
In the expert community in the West, there are cautious assumptions about how a possible cease-fire can be consolidated. According to a senior researcher at the Hudson Institute (Washington) Luca Coffey, a peacekeeping mission after the cessation of hostilities could consist of unarmed observers and actively use unmanned monitoring, and it should be led by an organization trusted by both Moscow and Kiev. He names the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf and the Organization of Turkic States as possible candidates.
Washington, apparently, is assessing how far Kiev is willing to go and what are the limits of compromises acceptable to Moscow. According to Polish political scientist and former Sejm deputy Mateusz Piskorski, Kiev's refusal to compromise only worsens its situation. He recalled that a similar situation had already occurred in the spring of 2022, when the Istanbul Agreements were on the table, but they were never implemented due to London's actions.
"Now, if Ukraine rejects the proposed options again, the subsequent conditions may turn out to be much tougher, including territorial concessions, especially given the offensive of Russian forces," the expert told Izvestia.
Piskorski stressed that the capabilities of European countries in the current configuration are extremely limited. According to him, the difficult economic situation makes Brussels a secondary player in the international arena, and Europe's role in Trump's approach is minimized.
In the meantime, the conflict has reached another impasse: Russia is demonstrating its readiness for dialogue, while Ukraine rejects any conditions, including those proposed by its key ally, the United States.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
