"Vladimir Putin only wants to gain time and only wants this Western unity, let me say, for Ukraine to disappear. He has already created an important breach. And the Alaska meeting will create another breach," Radu Carp, professor at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Bucharest, told MEDIAFAX.
He states that although a decisive break in Western unity regarding support for Ukraine might not be decisive, it could provide arguments for the Washington administration to reduce United States involvement in the conflict.
"In any case, the United States will have more, or rather, Donald Trump will have more arguments not to get involved. This happened before under Donald Trump with regard to North Korea. When Donald Trump saw that his methods were not leading anywhere, he stopped putting the subject on the front line and continued arming North Korea. That's what Donald Trump is doing, and unfortunately, Russia will have even more of a free hand in Ukraine from the moment European support cannot compensate for what the United States could have done," he adds.
Regarding this potential move by the United States, the university professor said,"It's a strategic error, but I hope it will be compensated on the ground by the Ukrainian army."
In addition, Radu Carp explained that economic negotiations will intensify in the Arctic area, and Trump could obtain some concessions in this regard.
"However, it is possible to obtain certain, how to put it that way, concessions or bilateral economic advantages regarding exploitation in the Arctic, without the sanctions regime being lifted. This is a more complicated matter, because Donald Trump tried to have a map of the deposits in the Arctic area, which is precisely why he had Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. He tried, but after six months he realized that, well, it far exceeds even the capabilities of the United States to have an accurate picture of the deposits." In this regard, Radu Carp did not show his confidence in the Trump administration's ability to succeed in economic initiatives."We could see developments on the Arctic file, and that's what Russia wants to get out of an economic encirclement in this way anyway. But, I repeat, here the ability of the United States under the current administration to manage the Arctic project has been seen. It is deplorable and it has been seen since Donald Trump's previous mandate. This has also been seen recently with regard to Finland. Even to this day, the Trump administration has not managed to come up with a coherent plan for the exploitation of natural resources. It has also been seen in the Ukrainian file. The agreement with Ukraine, although it was signed and the Ukrainians know very well what they own, could not be implemented, but moreover, from the agreement signed by the United States with Ukraine, a large part of the territory has already been taken over by the Russian Federation, in the meantime. So the United States signed that they will exploit a territory that is no longer even in its possession. Ukraine at the moment,” says Carp.
Radu Carp added that an end to the War in Ukraine can be achieved not only through discussions with the Russian Federation, but also with the states close to it:"What must be remembered is that the resolution of the war in Ukraine can only be done if there is a dialogue not only with the Russian Federation, but also with the countries that support Moscow. Iran, China, India, North Korea. Because these countries, following this war, have become interdependent with the economy of the Russian Federation and even they currently no longer want the conflict to end because it is advantageous to them."
Regarding a possible role for Europe in these discussions, the university professor argued that the location of the meeting, in Alaska,"shows a total disinterest in Europe."
