Expert says Russia doomed to fail in negotiations due to arrogance and inflated expectations
This was stated in a comment to Ukrinform by Polish expert on international relations and lecturer at Lazarski University in Warsaw, Michal Kuz, noting that due to excessive expectations, Russia will be doomed to failure in the negotiations.
“By entering into negotiations, Russia is playing for time, while President Trump has begun to lose patience, wanting to achieve some diplomatic success, and has begun to tighten the screws [on Russia and its allies],” the expert said.
According to him, Putin is forced to enter into negotiations with Washington under the threat of sanctions, in particular against countries that actively trade with Russia, as a result of which India, for example, could stop buying significant volumes of oil from Russia.
Therefore, as Kuz noted, Russia is forced to come up with some kind of diplomatic proposal to buy time. However, this is unlikely to lead to any breakthrough or positive outcome for it.
"In my opinion, in a sense, a Greek tragedy is unfolding, where Russia is doomed due to inflated expectations. Why are expectations too high? Because Russia lives in its imperial past, considers itself a superpower, and perceives itself as an equal partner of the US, although in economic terms it is not an equal partner even for Germany," the expert emphasized.
He added that Russia is a superpower only in terms of nuclear potential, but not in terms of economic indicators, and for Trump, as a businessman, the economy is more important than military potential.
“Therefore, in negotiations for the US, Russia is a vassal, not an equal partner,” the expert believes.
Kuz noted that Trump has already been disappointed twice by Russia's unyielding position and is now making a third attempt. And if it is also unsuccessful, his sympathy [for Putin] may turn sharply into hatred.
"As far as I can see, we are dealing with a kind of destructive pride on the part of Russia, which in Greek is called ‘hubris’ [arrogance, conceit, exaggerated self-esteem]. It leads to the Russian elite suffering from a chronically distorted perception of reality regarding Russia's position in the international arena. Regardless of the tactics used by the Russians, they will always have inflated expectations (compared to their real capabilities) in negotiations with superpowers such as the US. And they will always lose, regardless of who negotiates on their behalf," Kuz emphasized.
He added that despite the fact that most Russians and part of the Russian elite consider Russia a superpower, it is not: in economic terms, it ranks between Spain and South Korea.
According to the expert, after unsuccessful negotiations with Russia, Trump may take the position of providing significant material and technological support to Ukraine while further isolating Russia economically.
As reported by the agency, US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will meet on August 15 in Alaska.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is ready for real decisions that can bring peace, but Ukrainians will not give their land to the invaders.
