Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said in a newly released interview that the leaders of Russia and Ukraine have no plans to meet yet.
According to CCTV news reports, on August 24 local time, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Lavrov's interview with the US media, revealing details of the meeting between Russian and US leaders in Alaska and their views on the Russia-Ukraine conflict resolution process. Lavrov pointed out that Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated his willingness to meet with Ukraine President Zelensky, but only if the meeting between the two sides can expect corresponding results. When signing legal documents, all parties must clarify the legitimacy of the signatory. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, Zelensky currently does not have such legitimacy.
During the US-Ukraine-EU meeting on August 18, local time, US President Trump said that Russia and Ukraine do not need to cease fire first and can directly start negotiations on a peace agreement. He hopes that the leaders of Russia and Ukraine can hold a meeting before the end of this month. However, just a few days later, Trump's attitude has changed significantly. At the same time, Trump's Russia-Ukraine negotiation plan seems to have come to a standstill, and his previous meeting between Russian-Ukrainian leaders seems to be somewhat "far away".
Lavrov, according to Visual China
Russian foreign minister says agenda is not ready at all
Vance: It is normal for negotiations to be bumpy
On August 22, Lavrov said in an interview that when the agenda of the Russian-Ukrainian leaders' meeting is ready, Putin will meet with Zelensky, "but now the agenda is not ready at all. Putin will not hold a meeting for a'group photo '." In addition, Lavrov acknowledged that Zelensky is the de facto leader of Ukraine, but he also pointed out that "who signs the agreement on behalf of Ukraine is a very important issue"; "We need to make it clear that the person who signs the agreement must have legal status". Lavrov suggested that Zelensky's request to meet with Putin was essentially playing a game to illustrate the legitimacy of his presidency. "The Russian side believes that given Kiev's current position, even negotiations can't produce substantive results." Lavrov said that Zelensky said "no" to all proposals.
Some analysts believe that Lavrov's speech in the interview seems to be the most direct statement made by the Kremlin so far, that is, the meeting between Russian and Ukrainian leaders mentioned by Trump before may still be "far away." It is reported that Trump threatened on the 22nd that if Russian and Ukrainian leaders did not hold a direct meeting within two weeks, he would make a "very important decision", possibly "large-scale sanctions or tariffs".
▲ Vance (data map)
In an interview he revealed that both sides had made concessions in the past few weeks.Wans said he did not think Russia had deceived the United States, "The negotiation process is normal and we sometimes feel that we have made great progress with Russia, but sometimes we are also disappointed with Russia."Wans acknowledged that after the meeting in Alaska, there were some problems in the Russian-Unian negotiation process, but he was still optimistic that if we persist, there will be results.
Optimism lasts less than a week
"Major tactical mistakes" in the negotiations?
On the early morning of the 21st local time, two Russian cruise missiles hit an American factory in Ukraine. On the same day, Trump sent a vague post on social media, which seemed to imply that "Ukraine can't win at all" and seemed to encourage Ukraine to attack Russia. There are reports that in any case this indicates a major shift in Trump's position. Less than a week after the Alaska meeting on the 15th, Trump's optimism is fading.
Richard Haass, a veteran US diplomat, believes there has been a "major tactical error" in the multi-party talks. Richard believes it is a major tactical error to "prepare to go directly to the negotiations without first demanding an immediate ceasefire", "which will prolong the conflict and make the negotiation process very difficult." In his view, the priority is to cease fire first and then solve other issues. "A ceasefire is not a perfect solution. But it is much better than an ongoing conflict in any case."
Another analyst believes that the reason why the negotiations have stalled is also related to the negotiation style of Putin and Trump. Trump's former assistant believes that Trump's negotiation style is impromptu and relies heavily on his personal relationship with the other party. Putin's negotiation style is stable and rarely emotional. "Trump has always wanted to end the conflict quickly to fulfill his campaign promise. Under such circumstances, Russia thinks they are dominant."
On August 15, Putin (left) and Trump photographed memoirs at a welcome ceremony ahead of a meeting at the U.S. Air Force base.
Fiona Hill, who served as a senior expert on Russia at the National Security Council during Trump's first term, believes that Trump's recent meeting with Putin, Zelensky and a group of European leaders has caused some confusion. "American and Russian leaders may have some differences in understanding some issues". Fiona further explained that there may be differences in the understanding of the topic of "security guarantee for Ukraine" between the United States and Russia. "Russian leaders like to add some specific contexts, but Trump seems to ignore this."
Kurt Volcker, who served as the special representative for the negotiations on Ukraine during Trump's first term, bluntly stated,"Our situation now is actually similar to that of six months ago, and it is difficult to reach an agreement." Reports say that after optimism has subsided, Trump is now looking for new ways."He needs to continue to think about a question that has troubled him for a long time: How willing is he to put pressure on Putin? How willing are you to support Zelensky?"
Red Star Reporters and Central Television Reporters
Editor, Guo Yu