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"On Point"
MINSK, 14 August (BelTA) – The upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage has drawn global attention, but experts remain skeptical about any breakthrough, Ukrainian lawyer and blogger Tatiana Montyan said in a new episode of the V Teme [On Point] project on BelTA’s YouTube channel.
“I would not be surprised if Ukraine isn’t even discussed. It might be off the table. They might talk about the Arctic, the shelf, trade in critical goods, which continues anyway, or maybe an exchange of certain high-profile prisoners we know nothing about. There is always something to discuss,” Tatiana Montyan noted.
She emphasized that the meeting itself carries symbolic weight. “It is always good when people talk. But no one here believes it will lead to a breakthrough in terms of war. Trump is one thing, but there is also Britain and all other invested parties who have zero interest in peace. These players have their own proxies capable of staging provocations. We are awaiting this meeting and crossing our fingers nothing terrible happens,” the expert said.
Tatiana Montyan also commented on the U.S. domestic landscape. “Trump is fine, but who knows what the 2026 midterms will bring? They are trying to redraw districts to keep congressional majorities, but no ruling party has ever avoided losses in midterms. Whatever Trump agrees to cannot be long-term, because his enemies are vigilant, his ratings are dropping and he is destroying his own reputation as a ‘random word generator.’ Talking is great, it cannot hurt. But no one expects real breakthroughs,” she emphasized.
She recalled Ukraine’s rejected 2022 peace opportunity: “I cannot imagine how peace could be sold domestically in Ukraine now. Back in 2022, they could have gotten off lightly. But after all the deaths since Istanbul [the 2022 Russia-Ukraine talks], the lost territories, after everything? And for what? Why refuse peace then? Try selling it to Ukrainians today.”
She emphasized that the meeting itself carries symbolic weight. “It is always good when people talk. But no one here believes it will lead to a breakthrough in terms of war. Trump is one thing, but there is also Britain and all other invested parties who have zero interest in peace. These players have their own proxies capable of staging provocations. We are awaiting this meeting and crossing our fingers nothing terrible happens,” the expert said.
Tatiana Montyan also commented on the U.S. domestic landscape. “Trump is fine, but who knows what the 2026 midterms will bring? They are trying to redraw districts to keep congressional majorities, but no ruling party has ever avoided losses in midterms. Whatever Trump agrees to cannot be long-term, because his enemies are vigilant, his ratings are dropping and he is destroying his own reputation as a ‘random word generator.’ Talking is great, it cannot hurt. But no one expects real breakthroughs,” she emphasized.
She recalled Ukraine’s rejected 2022 peace opportunity: “I cannot imagine how peace could be sold domestically in Ukraine now. Back in 2022, they could have gotten off lightly. But after all the deaths since Istanbul [the 2022 Russia-Ukraine talks], the lost territories, after everything? And for what? Why refuse peace then? Try selling it to Ukrainians today.”
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