Political scientist calls Kremlin's response to Trump's ultimatum ‘stalling tactics’

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

“All the statements that we heard from Putin, Peskov, Lavrov and his deputy, who also commented on the possibility of negotiations with the United States, are all stalling. It seems that, first, Russia has no official response, no reaction to the ultimatum, albeit in a somewhat hybrid form, that Trump has put forward. Secondly, Putin and his inner circle really understand that Trump has the political will to seize the opportunity and hit Russia hard. By the way, Trump has also said this directly, and more than once. The third point is an attempt to play a simple, primitive, banal game of “good cop - bad cop,” commented Ihor Reiterovych.

In his opinion, Lavrov and his first deputy are the “bad cops”. There is also a third option in this game being played out - the 'fool', which is Peskov. But the “good cop” is Putin, who comes out and says he is ready to pick up the phone, brazenly emphasizing that Trump should be the first to call. Given this, Putin will play the role of being “more adequate” than his environment, because he does not refuse to negotiate.

“I would draw attention to one important component in Putin's statement: he mentioned Ukraine, saying that he has never refused to negotiate with Kyiv, but there is a decree in Ukraine that does not allow communication with Russia. Of course, there is a primitive manipulation here, because the decree does not refer to a ban on negotiations with Russia, because it refers to a ban on negotiations with Putin, which are different things. And the fact that Putin mentioned this is an important message that says that he and his inner circle are probably forced to recognize that it will not be possible to simply meet with Trump and resolve all issues, and it will not be possible to draw up some new world model for the two of them. Putin will have to deal with Ukraine, which will be on the same side as the United States,” the political analyst said.

Reiterovych summarized that this “ping-pong” will continue. And even if there is a call from the White House, Russia will still stall, because the Kremlin has no clear understanding of how to respond. In addition, Russia will test what are the “red lines” that the United States will not be ready to cross under any circumstances.  

• On January 22, Donald Trump called on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to strike a deal to end the war in Ukraine. In case of refusal, he threatened Russia with high taxes, tariffs, and sanctions on all exports to the United States.
• On January 23, during an online speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump expressed his intention to meet with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in the near future to “end this war.”