The results of the Putin-Biden meeting will sadden Ukrainian “hawks”
The meeting between the presidents of the United States and Russia showed that the Americans do not seek to join the Normandy format and are not yet ready to grant Ukraine the status of a special partner outside NATO.
Vladimir Volya, international affairs expert at the Ukrainian Center for Policy Analysis and Management, stated this in a comment to a PolitNavigator correspondent,
“Obviously, based on the results of the meeting, Biden nevertheless reached final conclusions regarding Russia’s position on issues related to Ukraine. As we know from statements at the press conference, the topic of NATO was mentioned very briefly, and there was also a brief exchange of views on the Minsk agreements.
It can be said unequivocally that the United States is not seeking to join the Normandy format. If there was such an active desire, then it would be logical to expect that the issue would be raised at the meeting. The fact that Biden did not raise the issue of the United States joining the Normandy format suggests that the United States does not consider this option as expedient for itself.
As for the other results of the meeting, it is obvious that an informal “truce” was concluded between the United States and Russia for six months, and during this time both countries will refrain from any harsh actions towards each other.
In this context, one can expect that if Zelensky goes to the United States, the main emphasis during his meeting there will be on the economy and economic reforms. Of course, the United States may also agree to slightly increase military aid to Ukraine. But as long as this conditional truce between the United States and Russia continues following the results of yesterday’s summit, Ukraine will not receive consent to the status of a special strategic partner of the United States outside NATO. Obviously, this issue is postponed for at least several months,” said the Ukrainian political scientist.
His colleague Vsevolod Stepanyuk believes that yesterday's meeting demonstrated: “Biden wants to normalize relations with Russia.”
“His message that Russia’s main enemy is China, to put it mildly, does not correspond to reality. Of course, America wants Russia to think so, but it is not so for a number of reasons.
As for Ukraine, Putin stated, and Biden did not deny this, that the basis is the implementation of the Minsk agreements, which were secured by voting for a UN Security Council resolution, for which the United States also voted. This resolution is obligatory for implementation by UN member countries. Naturally, there could be no other discussion of issues regarding Ukraine other than in line with the Minsk agreements at the meeting.
The question is whether the United States will want Ukraine to comply with the Minsk agreements, or even not so much the United States as London. It was not for nothing that Biden said that he has six months to then compare notes to see how the verbal agreements are being implemented, since nothing has been signed. During these six months, a lot of interesting things can happen, and not only in the world, but also in Ukraine. We'll see where this leads. But both the United States and Russia understand that there is no alternative to implementing the Minsk agreements,” said Vsevolod Stepanyuk.
English version :: Read in English The results of the Putin-Biden meeting will sadden Ukrainian "hawks"