Citizen Putin, who is still president of Russia, declared his readiness to negotiate with the United States, but put forward an ultimatum demand – the complete surrender of Ukraine.
This was reported in an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War.
Illegitimate Putin convened a meeting of the Russian Security Council on January 20, where he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reaffirmed Russia’s readiness for peace talks with the new administration of US President Donald Trump.
Putin emphasized that any peaceful settlement should be based on “eliminating the root causes” of the conflict, which, according to him, includes meeting Russia’s tough demands.
Literally: “Senior Kremlin officials, including Putin and Lavrov, have repeatedly emphasized in recent weeks that the Kremlin refuses to consider any compromises on Putin’s demands made in late 2021 and early 2022. These demands include a permanent “neutral” status for Ukraine, its non-membership in NATO, strict restrictions on the size of the Ukrainian army, and the removal of the Ukrainian government from power.”
It should be reminded that in 2021, Putin also demanded that NATO return to the borders of 1997. It was after that year that the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary joined NATO (1999); Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, and Bulgaria (2004); Croatia, Albania (2009); Montenegro (2017); North Macedonia (2020); Finland (2023); and Sweden (2024). That is, dictator Putin wants these countries to leave NATO!
It is clear that this is unrealistic. Then answer the question – “Why make unrealistic demands? What is the purpose?”
This is usually done for two reasons.
The first reason is that Putin raises the stakes even before the negotiation process begins, voicing high demands and the inadmissibility of lowering them. This is a typical move in negotiations. In order to end up not at such low positions as it could be.
However, given the real state of the Russian army, we can say that Putin is bluffing and trying to create a “good mine for a bad game”.
All the world’s intelligence agencies are continuously gathering information about the course of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The data obtained is double-checked, thoroughly researched and analyzed.
The first weeks of the war showed that Putin’s entourage had inadequately assessed the situation in Ukraine. The subsequent offensive demonstrated the inability of Russian generals to conduct modern warfare. Then, small Ukrainian forces managed to drive the Russians out of two previously captured regions – Kharkiv and Kherson. The Russian army was actually on the verge of complete defeat on the territory of Ukraine. It was saved only by Biden’s urgent intervention.
Thus, on the eastern front, Putin manages to advance and capture new villages. But this is achieved at the cost of very heavy losses.
And the fact that Putin has been unable to drive a small contingent of Ukrainian troops out of his territory (Kursk region) for more than five months now speaks to his very low capabilities.
If we do not take into account unmanned systems, aircraft and missiles, the Russian-Ukrainian war is being fought using the methods of World War II. Tanks, artillery, trenches, infantry attacks. It has long been clear to all global players that Putin’s regime is weak. That his army can barely carry out any combat operations in Ukraine.
The final demonstration of Putin’s failure was his lightning-fast fiasco in Syria. In two weeks, the regime of his colleague, dictator Assad, completely collapsed. There was nothing Putin could do to help him! Putin has already lost more than 800 thousand soldiers in the steppes of Ukraine! Another 600 thousand are bogged down in attacks. Putin simply had no one to send to Assad’s aid.
It is no longer possible to hide it. Although Putin continues to pretend that everything is under control. But the whole world has already seen that Putin is weaker than ever.
As for Putin’s economy, it used to hold up only thanks to the Biden administration. And at his inauguration, Trump spoke clearly about the use of American oil and energy exports. And this is not the only tool Trump can use to put pressure on Putin.
In addition, Trump only needs to activate the mechanisms of the land-lease and provide Ukraine with everything and a lot. Under such conditions, Putin’s defeat in Ukraine could last from 3 to 6 months.
The second option is if Putin does not really want any negotiations. He is only creating the illusion of readiness for peace for his own audience. Perhaps the dictators of the “Axis of Evil” countries (China, Belarus, North Korea, Iran) have promised Putin something and he is now convinced that he will get away with numerous crimes?
In such circumstances, it is even easier for Trump to act. There is no need to fight anyone or send our army to other parts of the world. It is enough to use the old proven methods again! We need to activate the mechanism of the land-lease for Ukraine at full capacity and apply real economic sanctions against Putin.
In fact, the American establishment has never engaged in a full confrontation with Putin or other dictators. Previously, it was all about playing the game and taking half measures.
Will the situation change after yesterday’s speech by the newly elected president of the world’s number one country?
