Currently, there are no signs that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to sit down at the negotiating table to end the war against Ukraine. Experts believe that the results of the presidential elections in the USA will not affect his decision, writes CNN.
In an interview with the publication, Thomas Graham, an expert on Russian foreign policy and a researcher at the Council on International Relations, said that after the US presidential elections, American politics will be at a crossroads. According to him, Putin will try to take advantage of the "cracks in the unity of the West."
"In the absence of Western unity, in the absence of a clear demonstration that the West and Ukraine have a shared vision of what they are trying to achieve... Putin has no reason to reconsider what he is doing in Ukraine at the moment." Graham said.
The scale of the war is also too great for simple negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, experts believe. They argue that this is a much broader conflict between Russia and the West.
The expert noted that these "cracks" may manifest as a reduction in American aid by the administration of ex-US President Donald Trump and a reduction in the role in NATO. In addition, there may be a split in Congress and other factors that will affect support for Ukraine.
Graham also recalled that Trump has repeatedly stated that he will end the war in Ukraine in just one day. However, the expert is not sure how this will happen:
"What Trump is thinking of doing, what leverage he has, it's unclear at this point, but I don't think it's a quick process."
Graham emphasized that cuts in US aid spending could lead to changes on the battlefield. The scale of the war is also too great for simple negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
"For Putin, Ukraine is only a means to an end, and the goal is to further limit the influence of the United States in international affairs," — John Laf, a junior researcher of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Chatham House think tank in London, believes.
Lough added that Trump may still reconsider his attitude to Putin after looking at the war in Ukraine from a different angle. He emphasized that China's support for the Russian Federation will be a signal to the Republican that Beijing poses a serious threat to Washington.
The publication shared that, according to NATO, more than 600 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded during the war in Ukraine. Even such huge losses are not a problem for Putin.
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