Separate negotiations: how Trump and Putin strike deals behind Ukraine's back.

France2. "One-sided negotiations increase Putin's appetites"

The American-Russian talks at the Diriyah Palace in Riyadh commenced without handshakes or opening remarks from either side. However, Russia perceives the mere fact of the negotiations as an unconditional diplomatic victory, notes the French state news agency France24.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the talks, stating that any discussions aimed at ending the war must be "fair" and include Europe. Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine's exclusion from the meeting in Riyadh, which lasted over four hours, is absolutely unacceptable.

"Such one-sided negotiations only increase Putin's appetites," said a senior Ukrainian official who wished to remain anonymous.

Secretary of State Rubio informed key European ministers about the negotiations on Tuesday, February 18, acknowledging that Europe must eventually be involved. Meanwhile, Russian representatives exclude Europe from negotiations regarding Ukraine's fate. The Kremlin's diplomatic team takes a hardline stance and is probing the ground for concessions that the West might be willing to make, as noted by France 24.

"We not only listened but also heard each other, and I have reason to believe that the American side better understood our position," said Sergey Lavrov to reporters after the talks.

Reuters. "Trump turned Russia from a pariah into a coveted partner"

Trump's hasty peace agreement with Putin could undermine the security of Ukraine and Europe and alter the geopolitical landscape, notes the British news agency Reuters. When Putin initiated his invasion of Ukraine, then-President Joe Biden took a tough stance in solidarity with Kyiv, forming a support base of European allies and working towards the economic and diplomatic isolation of Moscow. The meeting of American and Russian negotiators in Saudi Arabia ended Russia's isolation, which achieved concessions from the United States even before the negotiations began.

"The truly alarming fact is that Trump turned Russia from a pariah into a coveted partner in just a few days. This comes at a cost," said Brett Bruen, a former foreign policy advisor in the Obama administration.

U.S. European allies are concerned that Trump is willing to make significant concessions to Putin, receiving very little in return. Nevertheless, Kyiv has stated that it will not accept any agreement imposed without Ukrainian participation in the negotiations.

Russia sent two veteran diplomats to negotiate with the U.S., who have collectively spent 34 years in their current positions—Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov. The American delegation included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Trump's Special Representative for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

"The American team has virtually no experience in high-level international negotiations. None of them are experts on Ukraine and Russia, nor do they speak the relevant foreign languages. You cannot say the same about the Russians," noted Timothy Snyder, a history professor at Yale University.

After the negotiations, Donald Trump stated that he was satisfied with their progress and was ready to meet with Vladimir Putin by the end of February. Trump also told reporters on Tuesday, February 18, that he would not oppose the deployment of a European peacekeeping contingent in Ukraine, although the Russian side immediately declared that "Moscow will not accept NATO troops in Ukraine." This position from the Kremlin indicates that Russia is not prepared to make compromises.

In a conversation with Reuters, Emma Ashford, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, remarked that the Trump administration is currently acting quite rationally:

"It's certainly not ideal that Ukraine was not in the room [during the negotiations], although I believe they will be present at future such meetings. But perhaps the Trump administration is right that including various European partners in the negotiations could lead to too many voices and complicate progress."

However, Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss stated that "Russia clearly won the first round." He condemned the negotiations with Russia without coordination with European allies and Ukraine.

"The Kremlin is now sitting at the negotiating table that excludes Ukraine and NATO, but the Russians did nothing to achieve this. It was handed to them," said Jake Auchincloss.

Three Western intelligence officials told Reuters that they had not seen new evidence suggesting a change in Putin's objectives regarding the occupation of Ukraine. According to them, Putin intends to retain all territories seized by his forces, with the long-term goal of expanding his influence in Europe.

New York Times. "A disgraceful turn in American foreign policy"

The American-Russian negotiations behind Europe's back indicate that Donald Trump is ready to ally with Vladimir Putin and abandon allies, notes the American newspaper New York Times.

Trump has long admired Putin and considers him a strong and "very smart" player. The negotiations in Saudi Arabia signaled that the American president is prepared to end Putin's isolation and seeks to reintegrate Russia into the international community, making it a strategic partner of the U.S.

Most concerning is the fact that Donald Trump has begun to blame the Ukrainian leadership for the onset of the great war. According to Trump, if Ukraine had immediately agreed to territorial concessions to Russia, the war might not have happened.

"You shouldn't have started this. You could have made a deal," said Trump, referring to the Ukrainian leaders.

Speaking at his estate in Mar-a-Lago, Florida on Tuesday, February 18, he continued: "Now you have leadership that allowed the war to continue, which should never have even started." Trump said not a word of condemnation regarding Putin's actions and Russia. In Trump's eyes, the Russian leader is a figure worthy of admiration and respect, unlike the leaders of traditional U.S. allies such as Germany, Canada, or France, whom he regards with disdain.

Donald Trump is now executing one of the most radical shifts in American foreign policy in several generations—a "180-degree turn that will force friends and foes to fundamentally reassess their positions," notes the New York Times.

"This is a disgraceful turn in American foreign policy, which has been consistent for the past 80 years. Throughout the Cold War, the U.S. refused to legitimize the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, which supported the spirit of those fighting for their freedom. Now we are legitimizing Russian aggression to create spheres of influence on the European continent. Every American president in the last 80 years would have opposed such actions by Donald Trump," said Kori Schake, a former national security advisor to President George Bush.

The concessions that Donald Trump and his team proposed to Putin resemble a wish list from the Kremlin: Russia retains all Ukrainian territory that it unlawfully seized by force. The United States will not provide Ukraine with security guarantees, let alone the possibility of joining NATO. Sanctions will be lifted, and Ukraine must hold elections before signing a peace agreement. Putin is only asked to cease fire while he enjoys his diplomatic victory.

However, in the Trump administration, such a foreign policy shift is seen as a correction of long-standing misguided policy, notes the New York Times. Trump believes that the costs of defending Europe are too high. Reaching any agreement with Moscow, in his view, would allow the United States to bring more troops home and redirect resources to countering China. However, not everyone in Washington is enthusiastic about this approach to negotiations with Russia.

"We must talk to the Russians as we did with Soviet leaders throughout the Cold War. We cannot trust them. When you negotiate, you should understand that the Russians may violate all agreements. You are trying to find common interests, but recognize that our interests fundamentally contradict each other. We cannot become best friends with a dangerous adversary," said Celeste A. Wallander, a former assistant secretary of defense in the Biden administration.

Economist. "Western allies must at least maintain sanctions to drain Russia"

Despite the commencement of negotiations between the U.S. and Russia, Donald Trump likely has no clear plan for ending the Russian-Ukrainian war. This situation suits Putin just fine, writes the British newspaper Economist.

The Russian leader believes he has greater resilience than Ukraine or NATO, so he is prepared to maneuver to achieve his goals, using all possible tools, including military force and diplomacy.

However, any assessment of Russia's negotiating position must begin with an evaluation of the battlefield situation, where the Russian army has not demonstrated the ability to achieve all the objectives set by the Kremlin. The advance of Russian troops on the front has slowed, and losses are unacceptably high, notes the Economist.

In three years of full-scale war with Ukraine, Russia has lost thousands of units of military equipment without the possibility of recovery, and the Russian economy is significantly declining with each month of war. The vulnerability of the Russian economy may indicate that now is the worst time for the U.S. to make concessions to the Kremlin for the sake of a quick ceasefire. Even if Western allies cannot provide Ukraine with effective security guarantees, they should at least