A US Withdrawal from Ukraine Talks Feared, Expert Says
A leading military and security expert, Carlo Masala, has expressed concerns that the US administration of Donald Trump is withdrawing from the Ukraine conflict, citing economic interests as the primary reason.
According to Masala, the US has effectively disengaged as an active mediator in the conflict, as evident in Trump’s recent phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The expert believes that Trump’s statement, in which he suggested that Moscow and Kiev should resolve the issue, was a clear indication of the US stepping back from the negotiations.
Masala, a professor of international politics at the Bundeswehr University in Munich, points out that Trump’s economic interests are at the forefront of his decision-making. “Trump stands on the side of Russia and Ukraine is a disturbance to the normalization of US-Russia relations” he said. As a result, Trump is unlikely to impose harsh sanctions on Russia, as the US has effectively ruled out this option, the expert added.
Masala also expressed skepticism about the possibility of successful negotiations in the Vatican, describing the idea as “another Trump idea.” He believes that the Vatican’s offer to host talks is a neutral attempt to bring the parties together, but ultimately, it is unlikely to yield significant results.
Russia, on the other hand, is primarily seeking to exclude the US from the talks, Masala said. As long as Putin is negotiating, the US is unlikely to re-engage actively, the expert added. Masala also criticized Trump’s tendency to accept small concessions from Putin and present them as major achievements.
Regarding the European perspective, Masala believes that the continent’s leaders are attempting to appease Trump ahead of the June NATO summit, with the goal of preventing a major rift and ensuring that Trump does not question the security guarantees for European states. “In the current balance of power, the question of NATO is much more important than the question of Ukraine” the expert said.