In the aftermath of the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska and the meeting that followed at the White House with the participation of Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski and European leaders, “Vima” talked to Nicholas Fedon, a political scientist, a specialist in the European program, a specialist in the European program.
How do you judge the prospect of providing ‘article 5 type of NATO’ security guarantees, in Ukraine, of the article that refers to the NATO collective defense mechanism?
It is too early to judge proposals for security guarantees from the US or Europe for Ukraine. In the coming days, we hope that there will be more clarity in what the term “security guarantees” actually mean for Ukraine. In the meantime, it is in the interest of both Ukraine and its European partners to emphasize both in the United States and Russia that Ukraine cannot consider giving up to Moscow, territories it itself controls (as the Kremlin calls) without security guarantees, binding.
What can we expect about the possibility of a bilateral meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, and later a tripartite conference and with the participation of US President Donald Trump?
Again, it’s too early to say who will commit to what kind of meeting and when. It is currently in its interest to extend the negotiations with tactics of stubbornness, initially participating in different levels of discussion and then, delaying the implementation of the terms required to implement any agreement. The Russian army continues to make significant profits – and at a high cost – on the battlefield and Putin will want to exploit his advantage and exert more pressure on Kiev. If a bilateral meeting is held between Putin and Zelenski, or, the Ukrainians will be on a state of high alert to prevent any scenario in which the two forces will try to trap Ukraine, in an agreement that will be unacceptable for Ukrainian leadership. In this case, Kiev will continue to rely on its European partners to assist on pressure on Washington.
After the diplomatic fever of recent days, what should be Europe’s attitude, which is criticized that it appears cowardly against the US president?
Europeans will have to do everything they can to help Ukraine defend, quickly expand the defensive capacity of their countries through critical investment and effective coordination at European level, and encourage the constant flow of US weapons and information to Ukrainian soldiers at the forefront.
