Three different press releases after Riyadh — Trump got it all

Here is the full quote: "I think Russia wants to end this, but maybe it’s stalling. You know, I’ve done this for many years (in business): “I don’t want to sign the deal, I want to kind of stay in the game, but maybe I don’t want to do it."

“Trump has staked a lot on these negotiations. And so, logically, he has to play this game with the Russians for some time to come.”

However, the fact that there was no joint press release following the talks in Riyadh, and there were three versions (Russian, American, and Ukrainian) of what happened at once, is encouraging. In the sense that there are no agreements and no one is lifting sanctions yet. I'll repeat what I've said before: this is the beginning of negotiations that have too little chance of being effective. 

I want to emphasize only this. If nothing changes in the Russians' position (which is virtually unrealistic), there are two open questions: who Trump will blame for the breakdown of the agreements and whether sanctions will be imposed on Russia after the breakdown of the talks, if those responsible are named. 

The end of the war is out of the question.

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About the author: Vadym Denysenko, political scientist.

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