Portnikov explains why the U.S. cannot make progress in negotiations with Russia: Details
The Kremlin is not going to give up its demands.
Journalist Vitaly Portnikov believes that the US should change its approach to negotiations with Russia / © Associated Press
The U.S. must change its approach to negotiations with Russia, rather than focusing solely on setting conditions.
This opinion was expressed by journalist Vitaly Portnikov on the air of Espreso.
According to him, Russia has no intention of abandoning its maximalist demands. American politicians, including Senator Marco Rubio, have tried to find out whether the Kremlin is ready to compromise, but no progress has been made in that direction.
“People like Marco Rubio understand perfectly well what is happening. When he met with the Russians, he said that their main goal was to find out what the Russian policy is, whether they are ready to give up their maximalist conditions. And since then, they haven’t moved forward at all in these talks,” Portnikov explained.
Portnikov noted that Donald Trump wanted to persuade Vladimir Putin to first agree to a ceasefire, and only then begin peace negotiations with Ukraine. Moscow, however, rejects such a scenario and insists that negotiations can take place only against the backdrop of continued fighting.
Russian diplomats, including Sergey Lavrov, Yuri Ushakov, and Grigory Karasin, claim that the U.S. cannot impose its conditions and that Washington’s approach is unacceptable to the Kremlin.
“Ukraine might fulfill five of Russia’s conditions, and then the Kremlin will put forward five more. They need the war to continue until a final solution is reached,” Portnikov concluded.