There is still no talk of negotiations at all. Donald Trump manages to put the Russians at some kind of negotiating table - this is a huge achievement. This was said by Prof. Yonko Mermerski in an interview with "Face to Face" on bTV.
"Whether Trump underestimated Putin, we will learn when negotiations begin. Both sides will be present in Riyadh. We will have shuttle diplomacy. We are gradually getting closer to real negotiations. A just peace is an insane phrase - there is no losing side in history that has received a just peace," he added.
"Ukraine will be the losing side. We have to be blind and deaf not to know this," said Prof. Mermersky, expressing the opinion that Zelensky and Europe are undermining Trump's efforts to achieve a sustainable peace.
Europe is not able to defend itself from Russia without the United States, he is convinced. Diplomat Elena Poptodorova also believes that it is not a good option for Europe to remain without the United States and it is good for NATO to remain within its "largest framework".
"We cannot talk about negotiations at all at the moment, we have talks between Russian and American teams. At the moment we do not even have clarity in what direction these negotiations are going", she also commented.
"Putin will not accept a ceasefire while there are other options for it, for example, a direct agreement with Trump to the detriment of Ukraine. He will accept a ceasefire when everything else is worse. Ukraine for Putin is a detail. His vision is much larger and reaches the normalization of relations with the United States," the diplomat also said.