U.S. President Donald Trump should have demanded that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin cease fire in Russia’s war against Ukraine as a prerequisite for the meeting in Alaska, which in itself is already a success for the Kremlin leader.
Helmut Brandstätter, a Member of the European Parliament from Austria and a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, stated this in a comment to Ukrinform’s correspondent by
“I don’t have high expectations. In my opinion, it is already a success for Putin that he will be received in the United States. He will say the same thing he has been repeating for months: that the reasons for the war have not changed, that Russia still needs to ‘demilitarise’ and ‘denazify’ — that is, the usual propaganda rhetoric. And he will talk again about NATO and how Russia is supposedly under threat. Therefore, I do not expect anything significant,” the MP commented on the planned meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska.
In his opinion, the American leader should at least demand that Putin stop the bombing of Ukraine as a condition for their meeting.
“What disappointed me about Trump is that when he said, ‘Yes, we will meet,’ there should have been a condition: ‘We will meet, but Putin, you must immediately stop bombing Ukraine.’ Trump did not even demand that. So this is a great success for Putin. I don’t see what Trump could achieve or what Putin could concede. So I’m skeptical at the moment,” Brandstätter stated.
According to him, another question is whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be involved in the meeting in Alaska and, if so, in what format.
“Or maybe they will agree there that Putin should meet with Zelensky? That is also possible. But I believe that the key point that Trump has already missed is to say: ‘If we talk, you stop shooting first,’” Brandstätter added.
He stressed that it is Ukraine that must determine when and in what form peace will be achieved: “Only Ukraine can determine what format of truce or peace it wants. And, as everyone now knows, even those who do not know the Ukrainian Constitution by heart, the President cannot simply give away territory — that is not within his powers”.
Against this backdrop, Brandstätter stressed the importance of ensuring that the Kremlin complies with any agreement that may be reached between Ukraine and Russia as part of a peaceful resolution.
“Regardless of what agreement is reached between Putin and Zelensky, how can we guarantee that Putin will abide by it this time? After all, he did not comply with the Budapest Memorandum and attacked Ukraine. This is precisely the role that Europeans, together with the Americans, must play. I fear that the Americans will not participate in this, but this must be clearly stated,” he mentioned.
As reported by Ukrinform, Trump intends to meet with Putin on August 15 in Alaska. At the same time, the Head of White House said on Monday that this meeting would be aimed at understanding each other’s stances. In addition, he said he would call for an end to the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, President Zelensky emphasized that Putin wants to exchange a pause in the war for the legalization of the occupation of part of Ukraine.
Source: MP: Trump should have demanded Putin stop bombing Ukraine before meeting in Alaska
