Po petkovem in ponedeljkovem ločenem sestankovanju Trumpa s Putinom in Zelenskim je obris rešitve problema, ki je bil razlog za začetek vojne, dokaj jasen – Ukrajina ne bo članica Nata in Rusija bo ob držala zasedene regije z rusko govorečim prebivalstvom. Ključna pa je razlika med stališči ZDA in Rusije glede sil Nata v Ukrajini po mirovnem sporazumu:

Lavrov / Rusija:

• Posebej izpostavlja, da stalna prisotnost tujih sil na ukrajinskem ozemlju, zlasti članic NATO, predstavlja temeljno grožnjo, ki bi onemogočila trajni dogovor.

Trump / ZDA:

• Trump jasno pravi, da Ukrajina ne bo članica NATO in da ameriških vojakov v Ukrajini ne bo med njegovim predsedovanjem.

Ključna razlika:

• po Trumpu je možna prisotnost sil drugih evropskih držav, ki so članice NATO, v Ukrajini, kar po njegovem mnenju “ne bi predstavljalo problema za Rusijo”, pri čemer pa mora Kijev predhodno pokazati fleksibilnost in narediti teritorialne koncesije.

Sergej Lavrov:

Interview of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation S.V. Lavrov by VGTRK (Moscow, August 19, 2025)

Key points:

• It was clearly visible that the head of the United States and his team, first of all, sincerely want to achieve a result that will be long-term, sustainable, and reliable. Unlike the Europeans, who at that time were insisting everywhere that they only accept a ceasefire, and after that, they would continue supplying weapons to Ukraine.

• A clear understanding by both the US President D. Trump and his team that this conflict has causes and that the talks led by some presidents and prime ministers from Europe, claiming that Russia unprovokedly attacked Ukraine, are all “childish babble.”

• Some of them [presidents and prime ministers from Europe], such as the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany F. Merz, continue to state that Russia must be “pressed” with sanctions. None of these “gentlemen” even mentioned the phrase “human rights.” <…> If you now look retrospectively at what they have said about Ukraine over all these years, you will never find the phrase “human rights.”

• From the point of view of language and religion, the UN Charter is grossly violated in Ukraine. Let us not forget that Zelensky said in Washington that he is ready to negotiate, but he will not even discuss any territories because the Constitution forbids him.

• When these delegates [presidents and prime ministers from Europe] in Washington spoke about the necessity to start with developing security guarantees for Ukraine, but also for Europe, no one even once mentioned Russia’s security.

• Without respect for Russia’s security interests, without full respect for the rights of Russians and Russian-speaking people living in Ukraine, there can be no talk of any long-term agreements because these reasons must be urgently addressed in the context of settlement.

• The summit in Alaska allows us to see that the American administration is sincerely interested in this settlement not being for the purpose of preparing Ukraine for war again, as it was after the Minsk agreements, but precisely so that this crisis never happens again, to ensure the legitimate rights of all states located in this part of the world and all peoples inhabiting these states.

• We did not discuss sanctions. Not only many of our experts but also politicians and officials have repeatedly said that lifting sanctions could play a negative role. Because it could again instill in some sectors of our economy the illusion that now we will overcome all problems by returning to schemes developed and implemented in the 1990s and early 2000s.

• We do not refuse any forms of work, neither bilateral nor trilateral. The President of Russia V.V. Putin has repeatedly spoken about this. The main thing is that any formats: “1+1,” “1+2,” multilateral formats, of which there are many, including within the framework of the #UN, – <…> step by step, gradually, starting from the expert level and then passing all necessary stages, prepare summits. We will always support such a serious approach. Any contacts involving top officials must be prepared extremely carefully.

Vir: Maria Zakharova, TG

Donald Trump:

Trump’s key statements from a new interview with Fox News:

Ukraine will not be part of NATO;

It is impossible to return Crimea to Ukraine;

There will be no American troops in Ukraine during his presidency;

France, Germany, and the United Kingdom want to deploy troops on Ukrainian territory;

European leaders at the White House meeting understood the need for territorial concessions to Ukraine;

Russia is a powerful military force, whether people like it or not;

On the need for Kyiv to make concessions to resolve the conflict: Zelensky must show flexibility;

The USSR and Russia “were right” not to want to see NATO on their borders.