Political analyst calls Kiev's statement about talks with Putin an attempt to save face

Representatives of the Kiev regime realize that negotiations on resolving the Ukrainian crisis will be held without them due to the illegitimacy of the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose powers expired last May. And Kiev's refusal to hold talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin is only an attempt to strengthen Ukraine's subjectivity. This was stated by political analyst Alexander Asafov to Izvestia on January 15.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga said in an interview with the European Pravda newspaper that the ban by the country's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) on talks with Putin remained in force. He also urged to first wait for official contacts with the new US administration so that Kiev and Washington could discuss further steps.

"Ukraine is well aware that in any negotiation processes it has lost any subjectivity, because on Kiev's side there are practically no those who can legitimately participate in such negotiations. <...> Here it is trying to strengthen its subjectivity, showing that this is part of its political position," Asafov commented.

According to him, Ukraine is trying to save face against this background - Kiev realizes that the West will violate the previously agreed rule that the negotiations should be held only with the participation of the Ukrainian side. Thus, the expert believes, Kiev will agree to any proposals made by US President-elect Donald Trump.

"But these proposals will come from the negotiations, certainly without the participation of Ukraine," - summarized the interlocutor of the publication.

Earlier, on January 12, Trump's national security adviser Michael Waltz said that the American president-elect considers it impossible to settle the Ukrainian conflict without dialog with Russia. He indicated that the country's future administration would like to achieve a ceasefire "any minute or day."

Trump said on January 10 that he was preparing for a meeting with Putin, which could take place after the inauguration of the new American leader, scheduled for January 20. Speaking about possible future contacts, the American leader emphasized the need to "end" the Ukrainian conflict.

In addition, the team of the US President-elect said on December 13, 2024, that it is negotiating with Ukrainian officials and the current White House administration on the settlement of the conflict. Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, then also admitted the end of this crisis in the coming months.

Putin, for his part, emphasized in September that the Russian side has never given up on negotiations on Ukraine, but not on the basis of "ephemeral demands" but on the basis of the parameters agreed upon in Istanbul.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by the Russian president on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was taken against the background of the worsening situation in the region.