Trump administration trusts Putin more than Zelenskyy - U.S. professor

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"It seems to me that all the statements we've heard from American officials over the past week suggest that the Trump administration trusts Putin more than it trusts Zelenskyy. They perceive Russia as a country wanting to end the war, and Ukraine as a country wanting to continue it. Therefore, the demands made by Russian officials regarding the conditions under which a ceasefire can be signed are conditions that must be imposed on the Ukrainian side. Their main goal is to announce that an agreement has been signed, and then they can move on to discussing the details of the peace treaty. It seems to me that, in their view, the conditions the Russians propose should be accepted by the Ukrainian side a priori. Thus, this shuttle diplomacy will turn into a form of pressure that the Americans, as a rather biased mediator, will exert on the Ukrainian side on behalf of the Russians," he said.

At the same time, Serhiy Kudelia shared his opinion on whether the United States will discuss halting arms supplies to Ukraine. This is one of the demands made by Russian leader Putin. The professor noted that Western assistance includes support not only from the U.S. but also from Europe, which is still not involved in the negotiation process.

"It seems to me that the United States is ready to halt assistance during the ceasefire period. This is one of Vladimir Putin's key conditions. However, since Europeans are not part of the negotiations, it is clear that the U.S. cannot demand them to stop providing military aid. As for other red lines, it seems to me that the territorial concessions that Ukraine has to make will not happen during the ceasefire agreements. These will be demanded from Ukraine during negotiations on signing a peace treaty. So, I think we will see an overall plan, where a key component will be the United States' readiness to abandon or reconsider the results of the Bucharest summit, which declared Ukraine a prospective NATO member. This will likely be one of the key elements of this ceasefire agreement," said the professor.

• Yuri Ushakov, aide to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, announced that U.S. and Russian delegations will meet for negotiations in Riyadh on Monday, March 24.
• President Zelenskyy announced that Ukrainian and U.S. technical teams will meet in Saudi Arabia on Monday, March 24.
• At the same time, special representative Keith Kellogg stated that the U.S. plans to hold separate meetings with Ukrainian and Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia, aiming to organize indirect talks.
• On March 21, Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Heorhiy Tykhyi stated that the Ukrainian delegation would meet with the American one in Saudi Arabia, rejecting the possibility of talks with the Russians.
• On March 22, the Washington Post reported that negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegations on a ceasefire will take place in Saudi Arabia. These talks will not be direct, meaning the Ukrainian delegation will not meet with the Russian delegation.