Russia can try to impose its own logic of interaction on US after Paris summit– Klimkin
He stated this on Radio NV, Ukrinform reports.
Klimkin noted that at present, in the US–Russia dialogue, in addition to the Russian-Ukrainian war, there are many other political, security, economic, and business issues that, after the Paris meeting, will again be coordinated between Washington and Moscow. According to him, some Europeans do not like this, and Macron is publicly talking about renewing contacts with Putin.
"I think they will take place. One should strive to build a strong position for these contacts through a declaration on the deployment of forces and security commitments. But I do not think that Moscow is somehow impressed by these declarations, because any security guarantees work only when those who receive them and those who provide them are confident in them, that is, when there is rock-solid certainty that they will work. But the main thing is that those against whom they are directed must believe in them, and that is now the Russian regime. And I think that Moscow will try to agree with the Americans on some kind of its own logic of interaction," he predicted.
In this context, he added that he is encouraged by the White House's confidence that the current US foreign policy "is delivering results on Iran, the Middle East, and Venezuela."
"But this also means that the Kremlin will now actively push the logic of 'your sphere of influence, our sphere of influence.' As of today, this does not resonate with the US leadership, and that is our significant trump card. And the second one that we still have to play is that Trump must understand our value as a possible lever of influence on Russia," he believes.
He suggested that Washington would also like to keep Ukraine as a lever of influence on Europe, "since the US administration does not like today's Europe." In his opinion, this is understood both in European capitals and in Moscow.
"That is roughly what this discussion looks like today. That is, deploying troops is the easiest thing. Assembling them is also the easiest thing. Using all the necessary elements of support, from logistics to intelligence, is also possible if there is political will. But for this, all the pieces of the agreement must come together, and as of today they have not. And I expect that Moscow will, in fact, now continue to play these games with Washington," Klimkin said.
As Ukrinform reported, together with partners from the Coalition of the Willing, Ukraine worked at the Paris meeting on January 6, at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, on finalizing a document on security guarantees that will form the basis for further talks with US President Donald Trump.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a Declaration of Intent on the deployment of multinational forces.
As a result of the Paris summit of the Coalition of the Willing, the leaders agreed to create a special coordination center in the format "US – Ukraine – Coalition of the Willing."
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