Zelenskyy: US must not forget it is far stronger than Russia at negotiating table
Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Reuters that Washington should remember it is a hundred times stronger than Russia, warning that Vladimir Putin has begun to believe he controls the terms of negotiations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the United States not to lose sight of its real strength when negotiating with Russia. He made the remarks in an interview with Reuters, an excerpt of which he shared on social media and which was reported by European Pravda.
Zelenskyy said he believes Washington genuinely wants to bring Russia's war to an end. He acknowledged the difficulty of stopping a large country unwilling to stop on its own, which is why compromises with Moscow are being sought. Still, he cautioned that leaning too heavily on Russian-style compromises risks wasting valuable time.
Putin's calculations
According to Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump currently wants some form of victory ahead of the midterm elections, a dynamic he believes Vladimir Putin could exploit. Zelenskyy said Putin will do everything possible to push Iran into actions that make negotiations impossible, drawing a parallel with how Moscow has handled talks over its war against Ukraine.
Zelenskyy argued that once Putin perceives Trump as needing a political win, the Russian leader starts deciding on his own what concessions to offer and withhold. The Ukrainian leader described this as the core problem: Putin has come to believe he is the one calling the shots. Zelenskyy insisted this is a misperception, stressing that the US remains a hundred times more powerful than Russia and that American officials must keep this in mind.
Background
The New York Times has previously reported that the White House is weighing certain business deals with Russia as a gesture of goodwill, including a multi-billion-dollar arrangement involving Lukoil's extensive international network of oil fields, refineries and petrol stations. Separately, The Atlantic reported that Trump agreed to a proposal from special envoy John Coale to ease sanctions on Russia in exchange for the release of some prisoners held there.
