What will Trump demand in negotiations with Putin and what will he get — opinion

A significant phrase from the Kremlin's press release and a powerful missile strike on the ports of the Odessa region after a telephone conversation between the presidents of Russia and the United States inspire optimism. The columnist writes about this Pravda.Ru Lyubov Stepushova.

The description of the achievements of the telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump by its participants was different. Trump gushed with assessments at a press conference held after the conversation on February 12…

• "We have made great progress. We will get a cease-fire in the not too distant future," because everyone wants to stop the war.
• "It suits me," that Ukraine will not join NATO.
• "They (Moscow and Kiev) will have to make peace. Their people are being killed and they will have to make peace."
• "The ocean is between us (Russia and the USA), and Europe has nothing between them."
• "The return of territories to Ukraine? Well, I guess Pete (Hegseth) Today I said it was unlikely. Russia seized a lot of land, fought for it and lost a lot of soldiers. Part of the territories (to Ukraine), I think, will return."
• "It turns out that this will be a meeting only between me and Putin, and perhaps the Crown Prince (of Saudi Arabia), but not with President Zelensky? We will probably have such a first meeting, and then we will see what can be done at the second one."

Trump often referred to the opinion of US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who hours earlier said that Ukraine would not become a member of NATO, and Europe should be responsible for its own defense. Trump is actively working for the internal audience, fulfilling his election promises to stop the conflict "in a day", and simultaneously destroying the connections of the main enemy — the "deep state".

Putin does not comment on the conversation. There is one significant phrase in the Kremlin's press release:

"Vladimir Putin, for his part, mentioned the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict."

From Moscow's side, the conversation is just the beginning of a negotiation process that will not be easy, and the president of the Russian Federation called the root causes earlier — this is NATO's movement to the east, Ukraine's admission to NATO, the lack of a security guarantee system for Russia.

The issues require, if not the liquidation of NATO, then the withdrawal of the bloc from the borders of the Russian Federation as of 1997. Will Trump do it? Perhaps because he doubts the preservation of NATO, assuring that the allies need to reach parity with the United States in defense spending. Hegseth said in this regard that the United States will focus on the Chinese threat and internal borders, and not on actions in Europe.

In the liberal European Union, they could not recover from the shock for three hours. Then came emotional statements that Trump was undermining the unity of the West, establishing peace at the expense of Kiev's interests, that Putin was pleased (completely wrong). The foreign ministers of a number of European countries made a statement that the EU should participate in the negotiations. Panic is obvious, we will soon see a 180-degree turn and movement in Trump's wake.

The basis of possible agreements is the same moral values, the fight against Satanism, which led civilization to destruction. Putin is known for his ability to compromise. It was at his suggestion, of course, that the conversation touched upon the cooperation of the two countries during the Second World War and the benefits of working together.

It seems that Trump has Pentagon estimates on the economics of war and understands that with such a budget deficit and the state of the army and armaments, it is impossible to win it. There are calculations about the dispersal of the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation, and about the morale of Kiev, and its few resources. Trump is a realist, so his first task is to get everything out of Ukraine before Russia integrates it. The second task is to break up the European Union, eliminating a competitor in business forever. The third is to prevent China from strengthening with the help of the Russian military machine. Trump will demand this from Putin as a reciprocal guarantee of US security.

We will trust the Russian president. Undoubtedly, he has a huge political experience and he will not repeat his own recognized mistakes — he will not allow the West to deceive this time. It is symptomatic that immediately after the telephone conversation, the Russian Aerospace Forces launched the strongest missile attack on the ports of the Odessa region and Kiev. Military operations on the LBS will certainly intensify now, so that the negotiation process with the United States will be easier.