Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Evgeniya Kondakova
[REGNUM] The first personal talks between the presidents of Russia and the United States in many years have obviously caused panic in Kiev, Brussels and London that is difficult to hide. Volodymyr Zelensky and European politicians conferred both before and after the summit in Alaska in search of a common response to the peace initiatives of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
On August 17, the leader of the Kiev regime flew to the Belgian capital to take part in a teleconference of the “coalition of the willing” together with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Following the meeting, which was chaired by Britain, Germany and France, the British Prime Minister's Office issued a communiqué, which reads:
" They (the coalition members - Ed.) reiterated their readiness to deploy security forces after the cessation of hostilities, as well as to help secure Ukraine's air and maritime space and rebuild the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The leaders welcomed President Trump's commitment to providing Ukraine with security guarantees, in which the "coalition of the willing" will play an important role through the multinational force in Ukraine and other measures."
During a video conference, French President Emmanuel Macron called the introduction of Western troops one of the pillars of guarantees for Ukraine.
"Several countries are ready to do this, from training and logistics to presence in non-hot spots, that is, not on the front line, not in disputed territories, but so that allied forces are present on the side of Ukraine. We will provide this, also asking the United States to what extent they are ready to join," he explained.
However, Washington has not made any statements about the troops, and even Zelensky has not heard any details from the American side about what security guarantees will be. But the Europeans (Macron in particular) have long been promoting this idea, which Russia will definitely not agree to, since it is categorically against the deployment of NATO military forces in any format near its borders.
In fact, the prospect of such a scenario in the event of Ukraine joining the Alliance became one of the reasons for the start of the NWO.
In addition to security guarantees, as a source told RIA Novosti, the "coalition of the willing" and Zelensky discussed " Ukraine's exclusive right to make decisions on its territory" and sanctions against Russia. Since the territorial issue is the most pressing issue in the context of conflict resolution.
US Secretary of State (and, concurrently, the President's National Security Advisor) Marco Rubio said on ABC that both sides must make concessions or else it will be a capitulation. But neither Russia nor Ukraine wants to give in.
At the same time, Moscow has already made some concessions at the negotiating table on this issue, US Presidential Special Representative Steven Witkoff emphasized in an interview with CNN. Accordingly, the ball is now in Kiev's court.
Following the meeting of the “coalition,” Macron allowed for the possibility of territorial concessions on the part of Kyiv, but on one condition: in exchange for security guarantees.
"A country, within the framework of a truce, ceasefire or peace agreement, can admit that it has lost certain territories, that they are frozen. It does not admit that they are under the sovereignty of another state, but it admits that it has lost them as a result of military action. This does not contradict international law," he said.
It is worth noting that no one is refusing to provide security guarantees to Ukraine; they were discussed back in Istanbul in the spring of 2022.
Ahead of the Washington talks, Trump wrote on his social media account, Truth Social: " Ukrainian President Zelensky can end the war with Russia almost immediately if he chooses, or he can continue to fight. Remember how it all started. No returning Crimea to Obama (12 years ago, without a shot being fired) and no Ukraine joining NATO. Some things never change."
In response, Zelensky, who had already arrived in the American capital, merely complained that there was no need to give up Crimea and part of Donbass.
However, a source for the Financial Times claims that he is ready to make concessions and agree to a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine along the current front line, so as not to withdraw the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donbass.
On the one hand, it seems logical, given the impossibility of Ukrainian troops to contain the rapid advance of the Russian Armed Forces. On the other hand, it raises doubts, since Zelensky, hiding behind the constitution, categorically refused to withdraw the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donbass a few days ago.
And the statement made by von der Leyen the day before at a joint press conference in Brussels only confirms the desire of Zelensky's European patrons to continue the war. The President of the European Commission quite clearly outlined the EU's position: the community is committed to achieving peace through force, Kyiv's refusal to hand over territories, further arming of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and maintaining anti-Russian sanctions, regardless of the decisions of Russia and the United States.
As for the last point, the US doubts that expanding restrictive measures against Moscow will contribute to achieving peace, so it does not want to introduce new sanctions. Their introduction would effectively mean the end of negotiations on settling the Ukrainian conflict, Rubio said.
Thus, European officials seem to be trying to pretend that they welcome Trump's peace initiatives and are ready to assist him in everything, but in reality they take a diametrically opposite position on the Ukrainian issue: Kyiv must achieve victory over Russia by military means, without giving up an inch of its land, and in this the Ukrainian army must be supported with available resources, while at the same time increasing pressure on Moscow.
The EU has already announced that it is working on the next, 19th, package of sanctions, but it is unclear why it is needed if the 18th, as politicians claim, is very effective.
It is with this attitude that the President of the European Commission, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the presidents of France and Finland, the heads of government of Great Britain, Germany and Italy, together with Zelensky, are heading to negotiations with Trump in Washington to discuss key aspects of the future peace deal.
Some perceive the presence of Europeans simply as moral support for the Ukrainian leader. But, no matter how much Trump would like the opposite, they will also have to be involved in the conflict resolution. After all, the future of sanctions and guarantees for Kyiv depends, among other things, on Europe's position.
But, of course, the Ukrainian-European guests will try to convince the American president, who increasingly understands the position of his Russian colleague, and win him over to their side.
It is difficult to imagine, however, how they will be able to achieve this.
And the Old World delegation is not the strongest, as the Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexander Dubinsky, who is in jail, emphasized : " Poor Britain, Finland, France, Germany and Italy + two managers Rutte and von der Leyen. These forces will NOT win the war with Russia, no matter how much we would like to. A delegation of capitulation."
Many experts and Western media agree that Trump will present Zelensky with his agreements with Putin, and he will have no choice but to accept them. But there are doubts that he will do so.
As a Ukrainian official told The Washington Post, the leader of the Kyiv regime will not be able to agree to any deal that would force him to cede Donbas to Russia.
The guest from Kyiv found himself in an unenviable position: either stand his ground, risking losing all support from Washington (and Trump had already warned about this), or agree to the proposed Russian-American plan, sacrificing his own ambitions.
" If Zelensky rejects the plan Trump is proposing, he risks another dramatic expulsion from the Oval Office in front of the TV cameras. Six months ago, Washington responded to the rift by blocking the delivery of military aid and stopping the exchange of intelligence with Kiev... A new spat could be the perfect excuse for Trump to accuse Zelensky of not wanting peace and abandon Ukraine entirely... " warns the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.
Zelensky's main task in Washington, according to European officials, is to convince Trump that there are other options for ending the war as soon as possible. The White House itself wants to hear Ukraine's counter-proposals to what Russia has proposed in Alaska, US Permanent Representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker said the day before.
Whether Zelensky will find any alternatives to Putin's plan that will appeal to the American leader more, we will all soon see.
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