Expert: Russia attempts to 'charm' Trump to push Ukraine out of negotiations

In the expert's opinion, the forecasts suggesting that negotiations to end the war in Ukraine could take place in April-May, as reported by the Turkish outlet Hürriyet, are very optimistic.

"I see it more likely that the stage of negotiations about the start of negotiations will, at best, conclude closer to May, and only then will the active phase of the negotiation process begin. But, well, perhaps our Turkish colleagues know something more," Nesvitailov said.

According to him, it is important to understand that the negotiation track is currently dominant. And it seems that everything is heading in that direction, although there have been multiple instances where "everything seemed to be going somewhere, but ultimately nothing came of it." Therefore, there is no definite guarantee that negotiations will take place at this point.

"At this time, everything seems to indicate that Russia, in the form of Putin, is trying to charm Trump as much as possible and shift the discussion from the war in Ukraine to a global redistribution of spheres of influence. It's not 'a war between Ukraine and the Russian Federation,' but rather 'Russia is trying to defend its interests within its organic sphere of influence, its geopolitical sphere.' It's like, 'Look, USA, you have your own sphere of influence, we don't interfere with it and promise not to, so please don't interfere with ours.' And he is trying to exclude Ukraine from this equation," says the expert.

He believes that in this way, Russia is trying to do everything possible to prevent Ukraine from being a real part of the negotiation process. Despite this, Ukraine is doing everything in its power to ensure that this does not happen.

"The United States does not view Russia as an equal player at the moment. They only consider China as a player who is, more or less, their equal. And if they were to theoretically divide or negotiate the geopolitical redistribution of spheres of influence on planet Earth, it would definitely not be Russia, but China," said Nesvitailov.

The expert noted that it is still difficult to say whether negotiations to end the war in Ukraine have moved any closer.

"Signals have finally been sent to Russia about what will happen with them if they do not enter negotiations or continue to delay the process... Therefore, based on this, it can be said that pressure is currently being applied to Russia. And in theory, this could indeed lead to the acceleration of negotiations. But, again, if Russia is willing to perceive even a shred of rationality and is at least willing to try communication," he emphasized.

Negotiations with Russia

Earlier, we reported that Trump made a stern appeal to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, urging him to sit at the negotiating table to end the war against Ukraine. The US president stated that, otherwise, he would take harsh measures to force Moscow to do so.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin complained that Kyiv allegedly has a ban on negotiations with Russia.