Trump appears to be outmaneuvering both Beijing and Moscow, says political analyst

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.  

"If Beijing learned about the negotiations in Saudi Arabia just as unexpectedly, then it seems that Trump is outmaneuvering both Beijing and Russia. Of course, we are trying to pull the attention toward ourselves because we have a strong interest in ending this terrible war. But in the game that Trump has started — if he is truly as consistent and skilled a manipulator as he presents himself to be — it seems to me that Ukraine doesn’t even need to be at that table," Tsybulko stated.  

According to the political analyst, the American side is currently looking for Russia’s pressure points to apply leverage. In particular, the ongoing effort to push Russia out of the oil and gas market shows that this is a very sensitive issue for Moscow, making it a key pressure point.  

"Apart from oil and gas markets, there are also financial instruments that can be used to apply significant pressure, as Putin is practically howling over his inability to conduct financial operations on international markets. Russia always insists on the need for ‘strategic stability,’ as they call it, but I believe the Americans will catch Putin off guard. The main goal now is to put him in a negotiation corridor from which he won’t be able to escape," Tsybulko emphasized. 

• On the morning of February 18, negotiations began in the capital of Saudi Arabia between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The Ukrainian President’s Office responded.