How Putin and Trump use Belarus: analyst on backroom agreements in Alaska

Political scientist Vadym Denysenko stated this on Espreso TV.

"Regarding nuclear weapons, I believe the situation here is a bit more complicated. It is part of the agreements between Russia and the U.S., or more precisely, between Putin and Trump, which were reached in Alaska.

What is the essence? Putin announced his readiness for a new deployment of medium-range missiles but postponed this process for a year. That is, the proposal from the Russians to Trump was as follows: we simulate a certain escalation of the nuclear confrontation, then we sit down at the negotiating table, agree to stop it, and a situation arises where, without increasing or decreasing the number of nuclear warheads, it can be claimed that Trump stopped not only seven wars but also a potential nuclear war that could have happened in the near future.

In exchange for this, the issues of lifting sanctions on the Russian Federation and increasing pressure on Ukraine to withdraw from Donbas are likely being raised. Therefore, all these stories we are observing around nuclear weapons should be viewed from this particular perspective," Denysenko emphasized.

According to the political scientist, the warming of relations between the U.S. and Belarus is very important for Ukraine in this context. Apparently, this is part of the same agreement according to which the Russians will not place nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus, and the U.S., in return, demonstrates a certain warming in relations.

"Both sides have already taken the first tentative steps. This indicates that further consultations are possible, and this direction, unfortunately, may have positive prospects for Russia — in the sense that for Trump, it's a beneficial story where, by doing nothing, he can claim to have stopped a nuclear war," Denysenko added.

• Russian dictator Vladimir Putin accused the West of "destructive steps to undermine dialogue on nuclear weapons" and stated that Moscow is ready to respond with "military-technical measures to strategic threats."