Putin wants to drag Trump into talks to push for concessions — Russian opposition

He shared his opinions on Espreso TV.

"The strongest trait of Vladimir Putin is his subtle and experienced psychology. He knows when to apply pressure or step back, when to play along or threaten. And Putin is playing this game with Trump. By the way, Trump is also an experienced negotiator, but in my opinion, here Putin will be stronger," noted the Russian opposition figure.

According to him, from the very beginning, Putin's position, as recently mentioned by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, has been for Ukraine to give up six regions. A week ago, the talk was about an Easter "truce," and now it's another "truce" for May 8-10.

"Putin always tries to show Trump that an agreement is possible. But in this way, gradually, he pulls the U.S. president into negotiations to extract further concessions at every step. However, I would note that time is passing, and Trump is losing patience," emphasized Ilya Ponomarev.

• On April 25, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the Kremlin is ready to strike a deal with the United States regarding Ukraine, while noting that some aspects require "further refinement."