Trump's ideas for peace are not a recipe for success, the problem is Russia's position, Klimkin says

Current proposals of the US President Donald Trump to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian war will not succeed, but an acceptable settlement is hampered by Moscow's position. This opinion was expressed by Pavlo Klimkin, minister of foreign affairs (2014-2019) and analyst, in the new issue of "Klimkin Explains" on the YouTube channel of LIGA.net.

"Trump is now proceeding from the premise that some kind of territorial disengagement and [Ukraine's] rejection of NATO, plus some minimal 'let it be' guarantees, is a recipe for success. But, as we understand, this is not a recipe. There are people in the Trump administration who also understand that this is not a recipe, and even more so, not a recipe for the future," the expert said.

According to the analyst, the US president should "very simply" tell the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin: "You have to leave Ukraine alone. And we can give Ukraine confirmation (security, any other) that it is left alone and develops as it wants." Even if some demands are accepted that Ukrainians do not like, Klimkin added.

At the same time, he noted that Ukraine is still "infinitely far" from such a settlement because of Russia's position.

"Whatever happens, Putin, the Russian population, the Russian elites will work to destroy Ukraine. By any means: destabilization, "reset", seizure – everything," the former minister emphasized.

According to Klimkin, the entire logic behind the Russians' current attitude is "let's restore some mythical unity" (the so-called fake "single nation" of Russians and Ukrainians, etc.).

The full video is available at the link at the beginning of the news or below:

• In the same video, Klimkin said that Trump was playing a multi-level geopolitical game during the peace settlement, in which Kyiv should also participate.