Trump makes concessions to Russia, but not strategic ones – Analyst

If Trump’s recent actions are analyzed, pressure on Russia from the US could increase in the near future. He pointed out that while Russia initially denied reports of a planned US-Russia meeting on February 25, a technical meeting on embassy operations took place in Istanbul the following day.

Saakian remarked that this could lead to endless rounds of negotiations over details such as flights, salaries, and banking arrangements for embassy staff. This could drag on for a long time, Saakian remarked.

He emphasized that the Istanbul meeting had little to do with normalizing US-Russia relations and even less with Russia’s war against Ukraine. It also had no significant impact on NATO-Russia dynamics, the broader geopolitical landscape, or Russia’s ties with China.

However, Saakian noted that Trump has already drawn attention to the issue and even mentioned the possibility of European peacekeepers, claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not object. The Kremlin quickly denied this.

“Trump didn’t even mention a ceasefire, yet Russia rushed to preemptively reject the idea, fearing Trump might later claim, ‘Putin promised me a ceasefire along the front line’,” he explained.

Following Trump’s statement about securing the best possible deal for Ukraine and his hopes that Ukrainian forces will reclaim more territory, Moscow reacted with alarm. The Kremlin dismissed Trump’s remarks, insisting that Russia’s borders are defined by its constitution.

Saakian argued that a series of upcoming steps - signing sanctions, preparing a package to unfreeze US funding for Ukraine, developing support mechanisms, and working with European allies on weapons procurement - indicate that events are unfolding in a favorable direction for Ukraine.

“In my view, the situation is moving our way, but with increasing tactical risks. Trump has made almost all tactical concessions to Russia in US-Russia talks, a strategy of ‘lulling’ Russia. But strategically, he has made no concessions at all,” he concluded.

Meetings between the United States and Russia

On February 18, 2025, negotiations between the US and Russian delegations took place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and lasted approximately 4.5 hours.

It was the first meeting of this level since the beginning of Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine. Read more about the results of the US-Russia talks in Riyadh in the material by RBC-Ukraine.

However, yesterday, February 27, they held their second meeting in a month. Representatives of both countries gathered in Istanbul and, as officially announced, discussed the issue of normalizing the work of embassies of the two countries.