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ROLE
In Russia, the ruling regime in a conversation with US President Donald Trump has gained a lot of symbolic – Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was sitting at one table with the US and in the long run maintains Russia’s goal of being one of the countries dictating the rules worldwide, but closer to peace in Ukraine has not been reached by LETA. A visit to the US President’s invitation to the United States is an unequivocal success, according to an expert. Though, Russia is still pushing for its current goals for Ukraine in the talks, so there was no softening of positions from Russia. It is indeed not clear what was discussed directly in these conversations. Russia has tried to convince the United States that the temporary cessation of fire, the freezing of the front is not really useful at the moment, but shoudl move to a complete end of the war. One proposal is that Russia is ready for Ukraine to immediately return the entire Donecka area, including territories currently controlled by Russia, and only then would the process of freezing the front begin. This aligns with Russia’s actions – the other party has to challenge immediately, while Russia pushes its obligations further into the future and tries to trade. Russia is still insisting on so-called ”Ukrainian security guarantees” which coudl severely restrict Ukraine’s opportunities for NATO membership and foreign military personnel in Ukraine. This is largely in line with Russia’s goals, coming to the meeting with ukraine and the United States with offers that allow it to position itself as a country interested in peace while concurrently expressing demands.The meeting was short, and there was no talk of economic cooperation between the United States and Russia. Russia may have attempted to use the meeting to develop bilateral relations, but this may not have happened. It is too early to judge the practical impact of the meeting, as it is not yet clear what was offered. Progress towards the end of the war remains a slow and distant scenario. Trump may have been interested in Russia’s attempts to portray itself as a peace-seeking nation, as Putin can play a “long game” due to his position, while the US President needs to consider election cycles and “political points.” There are ideological similarities between Trump and Putin.
