Putin has to hurry before his path splits from Trump — historian

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

“Right now, Putin needs to hurry while the U.S., in one way or another, acts as a situational partner to Russia. There is reason to believe that Putin would like to end the armed part of this conflict — in his understanding — meaning not to make peace, not to withdraw from Ukrainian territory, but simply to stop shooting. And he would like to do this while the current U.S. administration is still sympathetic toward Russia and this way of resolving the conflict,” noted the expert from the Ukrainian Institute for the Future.

According to him, Putin is sending negotiators to talk to the United States — not to Europe and not to Ukraine. Therefore, we need to observe how the U.S.-Russia relations are developing.

“Not necessarily soon — it could be earlier or later — but at some point, the paths of Trump and Putin will inevitably diverge. This could happen in as much as two years, or even tomorrow, since the situation is unpredictable. That’s why Putin must now, while things are still in his favor, lock in everything he has already snatched from Ukraine and exit the game with the loot. That’s more or less his logic for the next few months,” Hromenko concluded.

• U.S. President Donald Trump believes that Russia wants to "see an end" to the war in Ukraine and sign a peace agreement, but they are likely "dragging their feet."