Will Trump and Putin meet soon? Ukrainian expert weighs in
Photo: Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
There are no preconditions for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, stated Valerii Klochok, head of the Center for Public Analytics Vezha and chairman of the charitable foundation Nova Doroha, in a commentary to the YouTube channel of RBC-Ukraine.
According to him, for a Trump-Putin meeting to take place, they would need to "finalize something." However, the American leader does not want to hold a personal meeting with the Kremlin chief until the hot phase of the war against Ukraine is over.
Klochok noted that until a ceasefire is reached, Russia and the US will also not agree on the restoration of air travel. In this regard, Trump is showing "consistency."
"He doesn’t care where the front line lies. We are demonstrating that we won’t give up the territories we currently control. Stop where you are. Putin doesn’t want that, and Trump can’t influence it because he can’t publicly force Ukraine to give up territory," he added.
The expert also noted that the Kremlin itself acknowledges the need to do its "homework" before a leaders-level meeting with the US. However, the Kremlin has not even started to do this work yet and has no plans to do so.
Klochok believes this is due to the very strong ties between China and Russia, which Trump tried to break but failed.
"Preserving Russia - I think this idea that has lived in the White House and the State Department for decades is complete nonsense. Preserving Russia in its current form won’t solve the root problem," he emphasized.
The expert added that currently, one of the most effective ways to stabilize the situation on the Eurasian continent is to dismantle Russia. Otherwise, China will gain even more power.
"A Trump-Putin meeting at this stage is not something that makes no sense, I just don’t see it happening," he concluded.
Trump-Putin meeting
Earlier, The Times reported that Chinese leader Xi Jinping wants to arrange a meeting between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.
Xi Jinping may invite Trump to a military parade in China this September to mark the end of World War II. Putin is also expected to attend.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated today that Putin could meet with Trump if the US President visits China.
