After Trump's meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyj and European leaders, which was held on Monday evening Swedish time, Donald Trump announced that he is arranging a meeting between Zelenskyj and Vladimir Putin.
A step in the right direction, means Charles Kupchan, but so far only a step.
Is there reason to believe that the negotiations will succeed in ending the war? No, he says.
According to Kupchan, who previously worked in the White House under Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, there is every reason to believe that the meeting will actually take place, despite Russia not yet formally confirming that they are ready to meet.
"He is the problem"
Zelenskyj announced his intention to participate, at a press conference after Monday's meeting. This essentially forces Putin to do the same, means Kupchan.
If he says no, he makes it clear that it is he who is the problem, he says.
During the meeting in Washington, security guarantees for Ukraine were discussed, if a peace agreement were to be reached with Russia.
Ukraine wants to join NATO, because then one can rely on the security of Article 5, which means defense guarantees from NATO allies. But that will not happen, because Russia has said that they will not accept it.
Unclear guarantees
What these security guarantees mean and who will stand for them is unclear. The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated at a press conference that the USA and Europe together would stand for the security guarantees, while Trump in a post on Truth Social wrote that the USA would help with coordinating.
There are some ambiguities here. Maybe Europe should stand for the troops and the USA for transporting them, or intelligence activities, it is uncertain. But that Trump will go to the Senate and propose that American soldiers be sent to Ukraine, I do not see that happening.
