US and Europe may 'tighten the screws' around Putin: Political scientist names timeline
Photo: Vladimir Putin, Russian President (Getty Images)
The US and Europe are likely to intensify pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days. This could happen against the backdrop of May 9th, states political scientist Oleh Saakian in a comment to the RBC-Ukraine YouTube channel.
He noted that the recent visit of the US special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, to Russian President Vladimir Putin "ended in nothing." Meanwhile, the Kremlin leader unilaterally proposed a ceasefire to Ukraine for only three days. He essentially deprived Washington of a "political victory."
According to Saakian, the recent talks between French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb with US President Donald Trump helped the American leader realize that Putin is "leading him by the nose."
At the same time, the political scientist believes that Europe has given the US "more leeway" in negotiations with Russia. In particular, this is indicated by an article in British media suggesting that the Coalition of the Willing is allegedly considering the possibility of not sending a ground contingent to Ukraine. Additionally, European countries have likely allowed for the easing of sanctions. However, according to Saakian, the condition for such concessions would be pressure on Russia in case of a refusal to reach an agreement.
"And Rubio (US Secretary of State Marco Rubio - ed.) came out and talked about a week, Trump said 'a week or two,' Macron said '8-10 days.' All of this points to the fact that a certain timer has been set. And it is quite likely that in about a week, after May 9 or against the backdrop of May 9, we will see further tightening of the screws around Putin," he added.
Saakian also pointed out that Europe wants to synchronize pressure on Russia with the US, as European sanctions alone would be "ineffective."
US criticizes Putin's idea of a ceasefire
Earlier, US Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg emphasized that President Donald Trump wants to see a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia for at least 30 days.
At the same time, Kellogg called the idea of Russian President Vladimir Putin about a ceasefire from May 8 to May 10 absurd.
Trump also suggested that he might impose banking or secondary sanctions against Russia.
