When U.S. President Donald Trump directly communicates with the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, he will quickly realize that negotiating with Russia since Putin's era is futile, and that it is necessary to simply "enhance Ukraine's capabilities to inflict militaristic defeats on Russia." This opinion was shared by the advisor to the head of the President's Office, Mikhail Podolyak, during a telethon.
"It is clear that when Trump talks to Putin, it doesn't matter whether it's a phone conversation or some other format, at that moment he will understand that negotiating with Russia, at least since Putin's time, is pointless. What is needed is to slightly increase Ukraine's abilities to deliver militaristic defeats to Russia in various areas. Or to intensify or scale up strikes on Russian territory, as this significantly triggers Putin and his entourage," Podolyak emphasized.
He added that, at the same time, it is essential to significantly raise the cost of the war for Putin by squeezing Russia out of several global and financial, as well as industry markets.
According to Podolyak, changes in the positions of both Trump and the special representative for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, regarding the end of the war in Ukraine are already noticeable. This is because they have gained access to information about Russia's internal state and motives. These are entirely different positions that relate to the understanding that dealing with Russia will not be easy, and that a choice must be made: either to play along with the scenario of the Russian dictator or to pressure the aggressor country.
"Either you follow Putin's scenario, which is nonsensical—it's practically the scenario of Afghanistan. That is, the need to quickly end this war on Russia's terms, which was similar to the Taliban's conditions. Do you understand how this will look reputationally and in terms of leadership for the U.S.? Especially against the backdrop of the fact that strict decrees have already been signed regarding a completely different moderation of domestic policy in the United States. In this context, to play in foreign policy in a key situation and give everything in favor of Russia would be a reputational absurdity. Or, it will be much clearer that Russia needs to be pressured, and what is needed for that. We will see all this," he noted.
Podolyak predicted three processes in the U.S. regarding the issue of ending the war in Ukraine that can soon be observed.
"I believe we will soon see three processes. The first is a realistic understanding that simply negotiating with Russia, without coercive tools, is impossible. The second is that the coercive tools must indeed appear much stronger than they have been so far. This means that Ukraine's militarization needs to be at a different level, and economic pressure on Russia must also be at a different level. Third, without a doubt, Putin is not a subject today who articulates any rational ideas, and therefore listening to him is just wasting time," he summarized.
War in Ukraine - Statements from High-Ranking U.S. Officials
As reported by UNIAN, the new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to the efforts to end the war in Ukraine as "the hard work of diplomacy." He noted that negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine will not take place publicly, that the U.S. must play its role here, and acknowledged that this is "a more complex matter" than Trump previously thought.
Furthermore, Trump also stated that he is likely to impose sanctions against Russia if Putin does not come to the negotiating table regarding Ukraine.