Russia will try to use the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to build closer ties with the US and at the same time create additional tension between America and Europe.
This was stated in an exclusive comment to Ukrinform by Pavel Havlicek, a Czech political expert at the Association of International Affairs.
“Russia will try to put a wedge in-between the two sides of the Atlantic and try to isolate Ukraine, exposing its vulnerabilities,” the expert believes.
Havlicek suggests that Putin will “use his personal persuasion skills” derived from his past in the KGB.
At the same time, the expert believes that the absence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Friday’s meeting is a positive development.
“Ukraine might benefit from not being at the meeting, which is a paradox because I know how much the Munich conference references were mentioned. They don’t have to face a difficult choice today although it might come in the future,” he stressed.
Havlicek believes that the summit in Alaska will not lead to serious breakthroughs in achieving peace, as it only creates conditions for a future meeting between Zelensky, Putin, and Trump.
In his opinion, this is an “interesting initiative,” since Putin had previously avoided personal communication.
According to the expert, Wednesday’s video conference with the leaders of the US, EU, NATO, and Ukraine was important, where European leaders, together with Zelensky, addressed Trump and outlined their expectations for his meeting with Putin.
At the same time, he believes that Trump’s personal reputation is at stake.
“What’s also at stake for Trump is somehow getting something from that meeting. All eyes will be on him and on what he delivers. It’s about his personal reputation. There’s already talk that, if nothing comes out of the meeting, sanctions have to be put in place. Let’s see if Russia is going to go for a compromise. If anything, Trump himself said that the first two minutes will show how much Russia is interested in this all,” the expert said.
Bilateral relations between Russia and the US are also of interest to the Kremlin, the expert notes.
“So there will definitely be an attempt to normalize bilateral relations against the European side which is definitely more hawkish toward Russia than the U.S. is right now,” Havlicek said.
At the same time, the expert sees no change in the Kremlin’s strategy, “which is to destroy Ukraine, destroy the Ukrainian nation.”
“I don’t see any change in their strategy, which is to destroy Ukraine, destroy the Ukrainian nation. Nothing of that has reversed no matter the pressure. So they stick to their plans and are now trying to play the Trump game – and Trump himself, actually,” he believes.
As reported by Ukrinform, the meeting between Donald Trump and Putin in Alaska is expected to begin on Friday, August 15, at 11:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Kyiv time).
Photo: Kateřina Cibulka, Český rozhlas
Source: Putin will try to put wedge between US and Europe, says Czech expert
