Podcast “Ukraine – the situation”
Biden-Putin Summit? What obstacles stand in the way of a meeting
US President Joe Biden (photo) made it clear that he was in principle ready to meet Putin, but that this was subject to conditions. “There must be obvious signs,” said security expert Christian Molling.
© Patrick Semansky/AP/DPA
According to security expert Christian Mölling, a summit meeting between the presidents of Russia and the USA will only take place if Russian President Vladimir Putin sends a clear signal that he is willing to negotiate – such as a ceasefire in Ukraine.
According to security expert Christian Mölling, a summit meeting between the presidents of Russia and the USA will only take place if Russian President Vladimir Putin sends a clear signal that he is willing to negotiate. Mölling said on Friday in star-Podcast “Ukraine – the situation”, such a sign could be a ceasefire in Ukraine. He made it clear that US President Joe Biden was in principle ready to meet Putin, but that this was subject to conditions. “There must be obvious signs,” said Mölling.
The message from the Americans is that they are in principle ready to negotiate, but continue to support Ukraine with weapons – and are even discussing the delivery of new and more far-reaching systems. The US made it clear that “there is always an alternative and that is to keep fighting”. In his opinion, this course was also coordinated with the Ukrainians: “I would continue to assume that the American president would link this back to Kyiv.”
Got a conversation channel with Putin
Mölling emphasized that there were many contacts with Putin; including by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. But these talks are not negotiations. “Without the pressure from the battlefield, there is no development towards the end of a war,” said Mölling.
Russian attacks hint
Mölling expects Russian attacks on Ukraine’s electricity and water supplies to resume soon. He referred to shots of Russian airfields from space, where great activity can be seen. “What has been indicated in the last few days by the satellite images suggests that there will be another large wave of attacks at some point,” said Mölling. However, the pause in the attacks gave the Ukrainians the opportunity to better adapt to this type of warfare. They got hold of smaller generators and tried to organize the supply in a more decentralized manner. As a result, the situation in Ukraine has improved, at least gradually. At the same time, the Russian strategy of making the country uninhabitable applies: “You’re basically starting from scratch again.”