Former ambassador says Putin wants leverage over Trump
Finland Russia wants to keep Europe and Ukraine out of peace talks and have Ukraine accept whatever Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump agree between them, former Finnish ambassador to Moscow Hannu Himanen told Yle.
“The Russian approach from the outset has been that Europeans should not interfere. This is a negotiation between the United States and Russia,” Himanen said on Wednesday’s A-studio programme. He said Putin hopes to maintain the upper hand over the US president in discussions about Ukraine’s future.
Trump has recently appeared more receptive to Russia’s position than Ukraine’s, Himanen said. Trump has also postponed sanctions on Russia, accused Ukraine of slowing the peace process and announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine that Russia did not observe.
The United States is also suspected of restricting Ukraine’s access to Starlink, which Ukraine has used, among other things, to counter Russian air attacks.
Himanen said the US could pressure Ukraine to accept unfavourable peace terms. He noted that US support for Ukraine since the start of Trump’s second term had been “negligible” relative to the size of the United States. In monetary terms, he said, it amounted to half of Finland’s aid to Ukraine.
Trilateral talks remain uncertain
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre met US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo on Tuesday. Stubb said on Wednesday that the aim was to arrange talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States.
Witkoff presented the results of the Oslo discussions to Putin in Moscow on Wednesday. Putin said he was in principle ready to resume peace talks with Ukraine in November. Zelenskyy also said he supported trilateral talks.
Himanen cautioned against expecting a breakthrough if negotiations take place. At the previous round of talks, held in the United Arab Emirates in February, Russia and Ukraine mainly agreed on further prisoner exchanges. He added that a meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy would likely take time to arrange.