American analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have concluded that right now Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is trying to do everything possible to get US President Donald Trump to abandon peace talks with Ukraine.
Points of attention
- Putin's reluctance to end the war in Ukraine is evident, as the Kremlin utilizes ambiguity to hide Russia's obstruction of the negotiation process.
- Russia is likely attempting to sway Trump away from engaging with Ukraine and Europe by presenting the 'Alaska Formula' as a resolution to the conflict.
Putin wants to get rid of Trump's influence on the course of the war
American analysts draw attention to the fact that after the Russian dictator's meeting with the Trump team on January 22-23, Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov made a new cynical statement.
According to the latter, there is "no hope" of achieving a long-term settlement of the war without resolving the territorial issue according to the "Anchorage formula."
Against this background, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov began to claim that official Moscow considers it "inexpedient" to "publicly delve into the details" of the "Anchorage Formula", however, they say, the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Defense Forces from the entire Donbas is an important condition for a peaceful settlement.
As the ISW team notes, in recent weeks, the Trump team has been able to make significant progress in defining the conditions necessary to ensure a lasting and credible peace in Ukraine.
Putin didn't like this development very much, because he doesn't plan to end the war.
The Kremlin is using the ambiguity surrounding the summit to hide the fact that Russia, not Ukraine, is obstructing the negotiation process by insisting on its original demands for war. Russia is likely trying to persuade Trump to abandon U.S. efforts to engage with Ukraine and Europe by offering the ambiguous “Alaska Formula” as a way to end the war.
