Putin seeks photo-op with Trump, sanctions delay to stage illusion of talks — Kallas

According to Suspilne, Kallas emphasized that Washington has leverage over the Kremlin, adding that the EU hopes for concrete results from the meeting.

Kallas said it was clear what Putin wanted: the opportunity to be photographed with President Trump, whom she described as the most influential person in the world, and then to delay the threat of sanctions in order to create the appearance of negotiations so that the threat would no longer exist. 

She noted that the intended result was an unconditional ceasefire, which would then allow genuine negotiations — talks between Ukraine and Russia — to begin.

At the same time, she stressed that Putin was not genuinely interested in negotiations, as these would otherwise involve Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. She pointed out that Zelenskyy must be part of any meeting, but it was clear that Putin did not want him there. According to Kallas, this was because he was not serious about peace talks; if he were, he would want to speak directly with Zelenskyy, since the war was in Ukraine and between Russia and Ukraine. She added that for any results or real negotiations to take place, discussions had to be held with those directly concerned — namely, Ukraine and President Zelenskyy.

Background

On August 8, Bloomberg and WSJ reported that U.S. President Donald Trump may be willing to accept Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s terms to formally recognize Russian control over parts of occupied Ukrainian territories.

On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump said that a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine would involve some exchange of territories.

Later, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would hold a meeting with the Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the state of Alaska next Friday.

Before the Trump-Putin meeting, senior officials from the U.S., Ukraine, and European countries are set to hold talks to coordinate their joint positions.

Media also reported that Volodymyr Zelenskyy might join the meeting between the American and Russian leaders. However, at a briefing on August 11, Trump noted that he will meet with Putin first, and later there might be a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, or all three together.