In Ukraine, hopes fade for a fair ceasefire agreement with Russia
The Trump administration is optimistic about its ability to secure a fair peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
In Ukraine, there is a much more cautious, perhaps even pessimistic view. Some observers believe that key Trump administration figures — including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who has taken a lead role in negotiations with the Kremlin — appear far too deferential to Moscow, News.Az reports citing The Washington Times.
That dim view of the administration’s ceasefire push, at least among some foreign policy specialists in Ukraine, centers on the belief that the U.S. will not exert the kind of pressure necessary on Russia to achieve a just, lasting peace agreement.
“Basically, Witkoff just translated the message from the Kremlin. And I cannot understand what he’s mediating, he’s essentially just transmitting whatever [Russian President Vladimir] Putin says,” said Alexander Khara, a former Ukrainian diplomat and foreign policy expert at the Center for Defense Strategies.
“We do not expect the Trump administration to exert any pressure on Russia,” Mr. Khara said. “I believe that the team in Washington believes that Ukraine is an obstacle to a reset, which is much more important to Trump than the peace and security of Ukraine, and the stability and security of Europe.”
The administration fiercely rejects that narrative. For his part, President Trump said recently he was “pissed off” at Mr. Putin for standing in the way of a peace deal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned Russia’s Palm Sunday missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, calling it “horrifying.” And the administration reportedly is considering major economic sanctions or secondary tariffs targeting Russia’s energy exports, which represent the lifeblood of its economy.
After his recent meeting with Mr. Putin, Mr. Witkoff emphasized that the “key” to ending the war in Ukraine were the so-called “five territories.” Mr. Witkoff appeared to be referring to the Crimean peninsula, which was forcibly annexed by Russia in 2014, as well as to the partially occupied regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
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