Zhivoi Gvozd YouTube channel, 20.04.2025

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Putin and Trump had a “good” conversation. They announced this to the world. Who will actually benefit from this, and who will not, remains to be seen.

No official announcements were made about discussing any draft decisions regarding the practical implementation of a ceasefire. According to Putin’s aide, “the timeframe for reaching a possible agreement on a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine”, that is, stopping killing of people and quickly ending the hostilities, was not discussed during the conversation. As follows from official reports, so far the presidents have only talked about developing a “memorandum” — a list or a plan of the key points for future direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Vladimir Putin, in a brief statement to the press, mentioned the possibility of reaching an agreement on a ceasefire “for a certain period” during direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.

Certainly, it is good that they talked. Any discussion on a possible ceasefire is good. Let there be a memorandum. Let there be anything that will bring closer the end to killing of people. The main thing is that the goal of all these memoranda and projects should be precisely the preservation of lives and the future, rather than unrealistic political and historical fantasies.

Certainly, there are problems related to “eliminating the roots of what is happening”. This topic is very deep and serious for both sides, and today the parties are extremely far not only from a solution, but even from understanding this issue. Therefore, it is necessary first to achieve a ceasefire, and then, step by step, try to understand the essence of the root causes and then look for solutions. As it was officially announced following the telephone negotiations between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, Russia and Ukraine need to “find those compromises that would suit both the parties”. Only in this way will it be possible to move first towards a truce, and then towards peace.

This is worth fighting for. But now it is necessary to demand and achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible.

For three years, the leaders of France, Germany, the UK and many other European countries have been categorically against a ceasefire. For three years, they pushed Kyiv to continue hostilities, promising supplies of long-range weapons, aircraft, or sending their soldiers to Ukraine. The war continued. People – both military and civilian – continued to die, cities and villages continued to be destroyed, the future became increasingly gloomy and hopeless.

Now, after Donald Trump declared his intention to end the military conflict in Ukraine, European leaders suddenly dramatically changed their position and began demanding an immediate ceasefire from Russia in an almost ultimatum form. It appears that in this way they are achieving the opposite – the continuation of hostilities. In concert with the entire Western press, they hurried to call the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations, that took place in Istanbul past week, “failed”. The release of 2,000 people thanks to the Istanbul agreements is not an achievement for European leaders. Apparently, human lives are not a criterion for them at all.

All this looks more like attempts to derail the already extremely difficult process of Russian-Ukrainian settlement.

What is happening? Why don’t European leaders really want to stop hostilities and why do they need the conflict to continue?

This happens because European politicians are extremely confused, they have no substantial ideas to end the war. Their “coalition of the willing” is absolutely useless and looks pitiful. They cannot solve their internal problems and conflicts: the consequences of Brexit, fundamental disagreements between EU members, strengthening of Eurosceptics’ positions, and distancing from the US. Modern European politics and diplomacy are being destroyed by the lack of strategy and fear of current Russia: European leaders constantly talk about some threat of a Russian attack on the European Union. And Europe wants Ukraine to pay for this helplessness and for this fear.

This European helplessness is obvious both for the Kremlin and the White House. Hence the results of the Putin-Trump negotiations: now Russia and Ukraine will move towards a ceasefire, truce and peace independently and without any time constraints. And this is extremely disturbing and dangerous.

It is important to note here that the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations held in Istanbul past week are the first small but very important step in three years towards a ceasefire and towards further attempts at peaceful settlement. There will be failures and disruptions ahead, disputes and contradictions, there will be many more meetings and contacts – successful and unsuccessful – but all this is generally the only way to preserve human lives and the future. And although this is not a priority task for European leaders, I hope that in Kyiv and in Moscow they will be able to overcome internal and external resistance and come, as soon as possible, to a real agreement on a ceasefire. And after that, they will begin negotiations on the first steps towards a truce.

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Grigory Yavlinsky talked on the YouTube channel Zhivoi Gvozd  about all this – what Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are discussing, the role of European countries in the situation around the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and about why the Russian authorities are reviving Stalin’s image.