US and Russia could resume talks, analyst says
Photo: US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian leader Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
Russia remains interested in continuing negotiations with the United States, and talks between the two countries could resume as early as next week, political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said in comments to RBC-Ukraine’s YouTube channel.
"I believe Putin will continue maneuvering. Once these holidays are over for him, I think there will be an attempt to restart talks with Trump next week," Fesenko said.
He noted that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has already hinted that Putin is seeking a meeting with Trump, and Trump, probably, wants it, too.
Fesenko also pointed to Russia's unusually muted reaction to Trump's recent remarks about the main victor of World War II.
"In the past, Moscow would have reacted with outrage, but now it remained restrained, which signals that negotiations with Trump still matter," he said.
"Putin will keep maneuvering, showing Xi Jinping that he’s the top ally, and to Trump, he (Putin - ed.) may signal that he might pull back from China for the sake of friendship with him," the analyst explained.
However, Fesenko warned that such maneuvers between the world’s two most powerful nations could be quite risky for Putin.
Negotiations between the United States and Russia
American and Russian officials have met several times to discuss the end of Russia's war against Ukraine and bilateral relations between the two countries.
Also, the US President's Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, visited Moscow four times and met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The key issue in their talks was the establishment of peace between Ukraine and Russia.
According to Bloomberg, during the last talks, Witkoff tried to convince Putin to soften the demands to end the war. However, this probably did not work.
