Trump understands that without Europe, no deal on Ukraine to be made — analyst

He made the comment during a broadcast on the Espreso TV channel.

“This will be the first high-level visit by representatives of Trump’s foreign policy team to Europe — specifically to France. It’s an interesting pairing: Witkoff and Rubio. Rubio is an experienced, professional diplomat, a Secretary of State, and one of the first to issue a strong statement following the attack in Sumy. Witkoff, on the other hand, has shown no reaction to Russia’s criminal actions. He has no diplomatic or public service experience. He’s Trump’s universal envoy — his most trusted confidant,” Rybachuk noted.

According to Rybachuk, it is highly likely that Witkoff will voice Trump’s position during the talks with Macron.

“Will he try to persuade Macron to reduce support for Ukraine? Trump has already faced resistance from the European Union. Witkoff has had multiple meetings with Putin, with zero results — exactly what was to be expected. He enthusiastically reported to Trump that a solution exists: simply hand over Ukrainian territories to Russia and ease sanctions.”

Rybachuk stressed that Witkoff’s political logic revolves around profitable business deals.

“He openly claimed that a partnership with Russia could create mutually beneficial relations and a shared future. But we’ve seen this before — Merkel’s ‘formula,’ and the Germans who, driven by billion-euro contracts, insisted they had Putin ‘in an embrace’ and that he’d never start a war.”

Rybachuk also pointed out that Macron is now an informal leader of the European negotiating group on Ukraine.

“Until now, talks were held without taking Europe’s position into account, but Trump is now forced to reckon with the EU’s firm refusal to ease sanctions. On the contrary, they are intensifying them. Trump understands that without Europe, there’s no deal to be made. So Witkoff has a lot on his plate in France. He’ll try to find a way to approach Macron — though I believe Macron has already gone through his political transformation,” he added.

• Earlier, Steve Witkoff claimed that Ukraine peace talks include discussions on “five territories.” In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed: “Only Ukrainians can speak about our country’s territory.”
• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff are set to visit France this week, with the war in Ukraine among the key issues on the agenda.