Political analyst predicts Russia-US talks on Ukraine without Zelensky

US President Donald Trump will not coordinate his positions on Ukraine with its leader Volodymyr Zelensky, whose powers expired in May 2024. Washington has never reckoned with Kiev, as it has turned Ukraine into a colony. Political analyst Ivan Mezyukho shared this opinion with Izvestiya on January 28.

The day before, the British publication Independent reported that Zelensky demanded that Trump include Kiev in any peace talks on the Ukrainian crisis. He also pointed out that the terms of a deal that could be reached under Trump are "still unclear."

"Obviously, the US has never considered Ukraine's position, because Washington has been basically destroying the Ukrainian state for years, turning this territory into its colony. What should change now? And why should Vladimir Zelensky suddenly demand anything from the American president? The reality is that Zelensky is not in a position to demand anything from anyone," commented Mezyukho.

According to him, Zelensky should put up with the fact that the fate of Ukraine will be decided without his participation, because he himself has done everything to make the Ukrainian state not a subject of international relations. So, against this background, there is no point in negotiating with Ukraine, the interlocutor of the publication emphasized.

"In order to negotiate with Ukraine, it must take its destiny in its hands and get out of external governance. Such a scenario is not seen in the foreseeable historical perspective. I think that Donald Trump will put Vladimir Zelensky before the fact, Trump will not coordinate any of his positions with the head of the Kiev clique," the expert expressed his confidence.

He also noted that currently Trump is still formulating his strategy on the Ukrainian issue, his decision turned out to be more complicated than the politician had anticipated. This conflict could not be solved in 24 hours, as Trump promised before the presidential election, and it will not be solved in 100 days, Mezyukho believes.

In addition, the political scientist added, possible negotiations between Russia and the United States will be built not only around Ukraine. For example, the following issues may be raised: global security, sanctions, economic interaction and the changing political architecture in the world. The last issue, is very painful for Trump - he reacts painfully to the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin is the leader of the anti-colonial movement, the speaker pointed out.

"Therefore, not Ukraine united, not Ukraine alone we live - this is obvious," he concluded.

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Will Russian and US leaders be able to agree on ways to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and other issues?

Earlier, on January 24, Trump accused Zelensky of obstructing the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. According to him, a peace agreement with Russia was not reached, because the Ukrainian leader "wanted to fight".

At the same day, Donald Trump said he wanted to meet with the Russian President as soon as possible to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine. In addition, on January 22, Trump expressed hope that his team is already making great efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

At the same time, Zelensky admitted the possibility of negotiations with Putin if Trump gives Kiev security guarantees. According to him, the only question for him is what kind of guarantees we are talking about, and he wants to have this understanding before the negotiations.