Waiting for the Americans to “give up” Ukraine: why the Kremlin is not ready for meaningful peace talks

Trilateral talks between Ukraine and Russia, mediated by the United States, are unlikely to resume until the end of the summer due to the Kremlin’s reluctance to change its position. The Russian side continues to insist on maximalist demands and shows no willingness to compromise.

This is reported by the Financial Times .

According to the publication, Russian negotiators, during contacts with the American side, stated that in order to advance the peace process, the United States must persuade Ukraine to make large-scale concessions.

“So far, Russians mostly believe that the Americans will ‘give’ Ukraine to us,” said one of the publication’s interlocutors in Moscow, who participated in behind-the-scenes negotiations to end the war.

At the same time, according to him, the Russian side is not demonstrating a willingness to make concessions.

“They are not hinting at any concessions. They keep repeating the same goals… Their basis for negotiations essentially means that there is no basis for negotiations,” the source said.

Senior Ukrainian officials involved in the peace talks told the Financial Times that the US-brokered trilateral negotiation process is unlikely to resume until the end of the summer.

According to the publication’s source in Moscow, the Kremlin’s focus on Vladimir Putin’s maximalist goals indicates that Russia is unlikely to participate in any meaningful negotiations until at least February 2027.

It is noted that Vladimir Putin has shown no signs of being willing to sit down at the negotiating table after the latest Ukrainian operations. Instead, he continues to insist that Russia is capable of achieving its military goals.

Earlier, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that Ukraine has achieved significant success in resisting Russian aggression, but this does not mean that Kyiv and Moscow have come close to a real negotiation process .

Recall that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has stated that Moscow is ready for peace talks with Ukraine . At the same time, he stressed that they should take place on terms that Russia considers acceptable.

On the eve of the event, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published an open letter to Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin. In it, he called on the Russian leader to end the war and proposed a personal meeting.

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