Putin's room for maneuver now narrowing — politician

Oleh Rybachuk, head of the NGO Center for Joint Actions and former Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

“Putin will try to stall, but here his interests do not align with Trump’s. Trump wants a result - and a quick one -  since the Nobel Committee will meet sometime in September. A number of experts already acknowledge as a fact that this is vital for Trump. Meanwhile, Putin is openly obstructing and wants to drag out the negotiation process. Advisers from the Ukrainian President’s Office said they are already working on the format and location of the meeting, and Zelenskyy confirmed this. As for Putin’s tactics, all Western media are talking about them - he is predictable, easy to read - and Trump surely knows this,” commented Oleh Rybachuk.

According to him, it is already known that Putin confirmed his readiness for the meeting, and no preconditions were discussed. The Kremlin dictator has no arguments against attending this meeting.

“Right now, Putin’s room for maneuver is narrowing. He has used this tactic successfully many times. Let’s recall how he managed to delay sanctions in Istanbul, when European leaders gave an ultimatum to cease fire by May 12. Then Trump tweeted that Zelenskyy had to drop everything and immediately go to Istanbul. Zelenskyy went — but Putin didn’t show up. Now the situation is a bit different: this time it’s Trump’s ultimatum, Putin agrees to a meeting, and as a result a new meeting is proposed instead of sanctions. And what, will Putin refuse to attend again? The American press is already tearing Trump and his administration apart, saying they are being played, manipulated, that they are weak, that Trump doesn’t dare impose sanctions or show strength toward Putin. In the end, this situation cannot go on forever,” the politician concluded.

Background

On August 18, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at the White House, where he was welcomed by Trump. The leaders first held a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office, then met with European leaders and the NATO Secretary General. Talks later continued in another format.

Following the meeting, Trump announced he had begun preparing for a summit between Zelenskyy and Putin.

Trump also called Russian leader Vladimir Putin after his talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said he was ready for a bilateral meeting with Putin without any preconditions.

Later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia does not reject bilateral or trilateral peace talks with Ukraine.

On August 19, during a conversation with Trump, Putin proposed a meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Russian capital.