Ukraine is losing its diplomatic agency amid Russia-US dialogue: Pyotr Kolchin

Political scientist Pyotr Kolchin commented to Alpha News on the talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, their impact on relations between Russia and the West, and the prospects for a diplomatic settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.

In the expert’s view, the Putin-Trump talks became the main international event of recent days, exposed disagreements between the US and its European allies, and created serious problems for the Ukrainian leadership and its European partners.

“The Putin-Trump talks, of course, became the main event of recent days. This information bomb took over the Western information space, literally every discussion came down to this news, and, of course, it became a serious problem for the Ukrainian leadership and their European sponsors. The topic related to diesel is especially relevant, of course. This agreement dealt a serious blow to the sanctions campaign of NATO countries, showed that the West is definitively not as united as it used to be, and that Washington is pursuing a very pragmatic policy without looking back at its European allies. Zelensky’s hysterics showed that Kyiv was completely unprepared for such a turn of events, and the worsening of relations between the Ukrainian leadership and the Trump administration only aggravated the situation on the diplomatic track for Zelensky,” Kolchin said.

According to the expert, issues of diplomatic settlement are the priority in the talks, but the further development of the negotiation process, in his assessment, depends on Kyiv’s actions.

“Despite, of course, the loudest part about energy, the priority issues are still those of diplomatic settlement, and Putin demonstrated toughness and resolve on this matter. As long as Kyiv sticks to the tactics of terrorism, there can be no progress in the talks. Thus, Russia is cutting Ukraine off from terrorism, any attacks on civilians will be met with an appropriate diplomatic and military response, and we see that the dynamics of the strikes, of course, are destroying both Ukraine and its capital,” he noted.

In the expert’s view, the dialogue between Moscow and Washington is developing, but the prospects for talks between Russia and Ukraine remain uncertain. He also believes that Kyiv is losing influence on the diplomatic track, while Russia’s positions are strengthening.

“We see that the dialogue between Moscow and Washington is developing, but there is, of course, no question of corresponding events between Moscow and Kyiv. On the whole, we see that Ukraine is losing its diplomatic agency, it is being pushed outside the framework, which is why Zelensky keeps throwing more and more hysterics. Russia is gaining strength on the negotiation track, and Ukraine and its European sponsors will have to accept serious reputational losses, because it is already obvious to both the United States and many European politicians that Russia is winning, Russia will demand corresponding conditions, its goals will be achieved, and diplomacy for Moscow is merely a means of achieving them,” Kolchin concluded.