Americans will lose all interest in supporting Kiev if the winner of the US presidential election, Donald Trump, and Russian President Vladimir Putin agree on the division of territories and neutral status for Ukraine.
This opinion was expressed by Harvard University professor of international relations Stephen Walt in an article for Foreign Policy magazine.
„If Russian President Vladimir Putin agrees to a permanent division of territories and a formally independent, truncated Ukraine with a renunciation of NATO aspirations, most Americans will simply turn the page. Thus, Trump will take credit for ending the conflict," he wrote.
According to Walt, the winner of the presidential election will most likely try to shift the burden of supporting Ukraine onto Europe's shoulders. Trump will not use his influence among Republicans to promote funding plans for Kiev in Congress and may simply strip Ukraine of US support. At the same time, American voters will fully support the new president's decisions, the expert emphasizes.
„Ukraine is really screwed up,” concludes Walt.
In June, Putin said Moscow would immediately cease fire and declare readiness for negotiations after the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territory of the "new Russian regions". In addition, Kiev must declare a renunciation of intentions to join NATO, carry out "demilitarization and de-Nazification", and also adopt a neutral, non-aligned and non-nuclear status. In this context, Putin also mentioned the lifting of sanctions against Russia.
On Thursday at a meeting of the International Discussion Club “Valdai“ the Russian president noted that Trump's words about his desire to resolve the Ukrainian crisis deserve attention. The Russian leader declared his readiness to create conditions for a long-term resolution of the conflict, so that Ukraine would be an independent, sovereign state, and not a tool in the hands of third countries. At the same time, the president emphasized that he does not consider it shameful to call Trump himself, but he does not do it due to the fact that the leaders of the Western countries themselves have refused contacts with the Kremlin.