Is Putin being taken to the cleaners again as he was with the Minsk agreement?
Paul Craig Roberts
American and Russian negotiators continue to proclaim that progress is being made and a final agreement on Ukraine is almost ready. But Russian foreign minister Lavrov says that the Russian government has not seen the security guarantees that Washington and Kyiv are talking about. Lavrov says Russia has not seen the entire 20-point plan that is being promoted and that he is yet to see a list of the rights that are to be given to Russians who continue to reside in Ukraine.
I hope the Russian foreign minister is not being cut out of a deal negotiated by Kirill Dmitriev, an agent of the Russian oligarchs, and Witkoff, an agent of American monied interests.
Throughout the entire four-year process, Putin has shown far more interest in an agreement than have Washington, Europe, the UK, and Zelensky. Has Putin’s enthusiasm for an agreement convinced his adversaries that Russia can be short-changed? After having so strongly championed an agreement, will Putin have to accept whatever is handed to him or else be demonized as the obstacle to a peaceful settlement?
Trump Touts Progress in Russia-Ukraine Talks as Witkoff Says ‘Lots of Good Things Are Happening’
We have been hearing about “good things happening” for a long time, but we are never told what the “good things” are.
Witkoff says, “We have a security protocol that’s largely finished,” but the Russian foreign minister says he has never seen it. How is something finished that the Russians have not seen? How is it possible for such nonsensical news to be reported?