An agreement on ending the war in Ukraine is currently impossible, and security guarantees are unrealistic, said Dr. Witold Rodkiewicz, an expert from the Centre for Eastern Studies, in an interview with PAP.
Following meetings between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders with US President Donald Trump, the OSW expert assessed that an agreement to end the war is currently impossible. “In my opinion, we are not even a step closer to a real end to this war,” Rodkiewicz told PAP.
“What happened in Washington is positive. Trump is pleased and is showing his favor to Zelensky, but this favor is still contingent on Ukraine making concessions to Russia to end the war,” Rodkiewicz noted.
In his opinion, territorial concessions to Russia in exchange for security guarantees are a good way for Ukraine to end the war.
“I don't believe these security guarantees can be realistic. No Western country will provide real guarantees that, in the event of an armed attack, country X will provide military assistance to Ukraine,” the expert said. In his opinion, Russia will also not agree to real security guarantees for Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump announced last night that Vladimir Putin had agreed to such guarantees. He also said he had begun arranging a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky, which would be followed by another trilateral meeting.
– It may be that Trump sees that the chances of reaching an agreement are slim and wants to distance himself from it, wants it to come out in a bilateral meeting – he emphasized.
The OSW expert also believes that Putin will not make any concessions, except symbolic ones. He emphasized that Zelenskyy also cannot bow to Russian demands. He assessed that, in reality, there has been no real progress in the negotiations. (PAP)
bur/ mrr/ lm/
