Putin's negotiation framework goes far beyond war against Ukraine - diplomat

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

“This reflects Putin's philosophy, which has already become a philosophy of war. His worldview is war-oriented, and this is likely to remain unchanged for the rest of his life. For Putin, war is the meaning of his existence and the actions of the Russian Federation in the future. At the same time, he is likely thinking about the continuity of power in Russia, seeking to consolidate the current regime for decades to come. His grand framework is to reestablish spheres of influence and positions in some form that might resemble the Soviet Union. While these plans may be unrealistic, this is the idea that dominates the thinking of Putin and his circle,” Lubkivskyi noted.

Thus, Putin's negotiation framework covers a wide range of international issues: from the Arctic, Russia's positions in the North, the North Sea, to Central Asia, the situation in the Middle East, Syria, Iran and other regions. This, in fact, determines the motivation for Putin's actions.

Russia is deliberately turning the talks into a Washington-Moscow format, excluding other participants, the diplomat said.

“Ukraine is not seen as an interlocutor, and they are trying to push Europe away from the negotiation process. For the US administration, this position is probably not natural, but it is taking this approach. We are talking about negotiations between nuclear superpowers, and Trump understands this. This creates an important task for Ukrainian diplomacy and European partners - to ensure the participation of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other partners in the peaceful settlement process. Their participation should be not only political, but also practical, in particular in the defense and military sense,” he said.

According to the diplomat, one of the promising areas is the initiative to protect Ukrainian skies and create an air dome over Ukraine. This is important for involving European partners in the development of the situation.

Donald Trump's policy is unpredictable, so we need to be prepared for different scenarios, including the worst ones, Lubkivsky said. At the same time, Putin can count on the fact that the Trump administration, having launched many international conflicts, will probably not be able to respond effectively to all challenges. This is a point of vulnerability that could affect Trump's future position.

“I believe that there are those in the US administration and among the Republicans who realize that a US defeat in Ukraine would mean a defeat for the entire West and America. This will have serious consequences for America's global leadership. Today, it is being decided to what extent American diplomacy will be able to find the tools to put pressure on Putin. The international leadership of the United States for decades to come depends on it. There is already a consensus in Congress on the need to increase pressure on Russia. If Putin continues his policy of humiliating the US administration, this will cause a natural reaction from the US, because the loss of Ukraine is an unacceptable price to pay in the international arena,” he summarized.

• On March 14, US President Donald Trump said that following Witkoff's conversation with Putin, “there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally end.”