Europe is not ready to lift sanctions even under pressure from Trump. What the media is writing

The negotiations between the team of US President Donald Trump and the Russian and Ukrainian sides in Riyadh resulted in an agreement on a partial ceasefire and a grain deal. The condition for this was the lifting of some of the American and European sanctions. But the Western press doubts that the lifting of US sanctions will be enough for a deal. What the foreign media write about the position of Europe and Kiev on the agreement in Riyadh and the results of the summit of the Coalition of the Willing — in the Izvestia article

Euractiv: EU consent is required to lift sanctions against Russia

US President Donald Trump will need European consent to lift any sanctions against Russia in order for the recently concluded ceasefire agreement in the Black Sea to work, but this may prove difficult. Russia's bargaining on the Black Sea deal is seen as an attempt by Moscow to probe whether it can begin to undermine the EU sanctions regime.

Since the SWIFT international payment system is based in Belgium, it is necessary to comply with EU regulations and sanctions legislation. According to the European diplomats, the lifting of sanctions against Russia is still impossible until a complete ceasefire is reached and troops are withdrawn from Ukraine. The European Commission would not comment on whether it had been contacted by U.S. officials on the matter.

BFM: Ukraine's European allies do not intend to lift sanctions against Russia

At a meeting in Paris on Thursday in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's allies ruled out the possibility of lifting sanctions against Russia, instead considering a way to tighten them in order to increase pressure on Moscow. French President Emmanuel Macron said that Ukraine's allies "unanimously agreed" to maintain sanctions.

The summit, which lasted more than three hours at the Elysee Palace, was intended to discuss security guarantees for Kiev, including the possible deployment of European military forces as part of a future peace agreement with Russia, which remains highly hypothetical.

Coalition of the unwilling: Europe continues to resist Russia's peace initiatives

What did they come to at the next summit in Paris and why is it unprofitable for the West to resolve the conflict

Carnegie Politika: Trump needs a truce more than Russia right now

The talks between Moscow and Washington in Riyadh did not just go without breakthroughs, but it seems to have failed. It follows from the final statements of the White House and the Kremlin that the parties agreed to stop attacks on energy facilities, but it is unclear how this will be controlled. The United States also announced a truce on the Black Sea, but Russia made it clear that the condition for its start would be the lifting of some sanctions, which the United States alone cannot do. Thus, the Kremlin makes it clear that Trump needs a truce first of all, which means that Putin has a strong position and he can set conditions.

The Kremlin's demands are similar to an edited version of the 2023 grain deal, and are intended to test how far Washington is willing to go for a symbolic return to the Black Sea grain deal, which at one time gave rise to many hopes for the possibility of an early peace. Such a return could be a good opportunity for Trump to announce the first significant success in the Ukrainian settlement. But to do this, the current American administration will have to put very serious pressure on Europe, without which it is impossible to completely lift sanctions, and especially on Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal: the plan to deploy European troops in Ukraine has failed

Britain and France are failing in their campaign to convince other European allies to send troops to Ukraine to secure a peace deal, amid growing doubts about the U.S. willingness to guarantee their safety. Macron gathered dozens of leaders, including Volodymyr Zelensky, at the Elysee Palace on Thursday to work out an agreement on the deployment of European land, air and naval forces that could be sent to Ukraine.

The central issue of concern for European countries is whether the United States will play a role in supporting European peacekeepers if they come under fire from Russia. Washington has not yet made any commitments, and Trump's chief negotiator with Russia, Steve Witkoff, rejected the Franco-British initiative last week, saying that the countries had "struck a pose" and were trying to "be like Winston Churchill."

For the parties' reasons: the Russian Federation and the United States have made progress in the "Black Sea Initiative"

It became known what Moscow and Washington agreed on during 12-hour consultations in Riyadh.

The Washington Post: the relationship between Zelensky and Trump will become more complicated

The consequences of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's controversial visit to the White House last month seem to have smoothed over a bit. But the talks that took place this week in Saudi Arabia show that talking about how to end the conflict in Ukraine risks leading to a confrontation with Trump again. Russia and Ukraine issued separate joint statements with the United States, which read completely differently. It can be assumed that the countries will not meet at the same negotiating table in the near future, and the road ahead is full of potential obstacles.

According to Nikolai Beleskov, a political analyst and researcher at the Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Studies, "all sides still have not resolved their main differences," and therefore, even in the case of a successful partial ceasefire, there is no guarantee of "final success." Tensions may also escalate as Moscow's demands conflict with Kiev's red lines, including a refusal to reduce the size of the Ukrainian army or cede Russian-occupied lands. Among the obstacles on the horizon is the apparent openness of several members of the Trump administration to the Russian narrative of the conflict.