FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
But Trump has not carried out his threats, and this is another reason for Russia's self-confidence...
Sometimes it's not what is said that makes the biggest impression.
It's the reaction.
In Russia's Far East, Vladimir Putin issued a warning to the West: don't even think about sending soldiers, and that includes peacekeepers, to Ukraine.
"If some troops appear there, especially now that fighting is ongoing, we proceed from the premise that these will be legitimate targets for destruction," the Russian president said.
Then comes the reaction.
The audience at the economic forum in Vladivostok erupted in applause, with Russian officials and business leaders apparently welcoming the threat to "destroy" Western troops.
Observing the scene in the hall, the applause seemed quite thrilling to me.
And this came just a day after Kiev's allies, the so-called Coalition of the Willing, had promised a "security force" after the war in Ukraine. The audience applauded again when the Kremlin leader suggested he would be prepared to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but only on his own soil.
"The best place for this is the Russian capital, in the Hero City Moscow," Putin said.
Outside Russia, Putin's proposal has been dismissed as frivolous, a completely wrong idea. A case of political ridicule.
But in many ways, this sums up the Kremlin's current stance on the war in Ukraine: "Yes, we want peace, but only on our terms. You reject our terms? Then there is no peace."
This uncompromising stance is being driven by a combination of factors.
First, from the Kremlin's belief that, in Ukraine, Russian forces have the initiative on the battlefield.
Second, through diplomatic success. This week in China, Putin shook hands and smiled with a series of world leaders. The optics were all about demonstrating that Russia has powerful friends, like China, India, and North Korea.
And then there's America. Last month, US President Donald Trump invited Putin to Alaska for a high-level meeting. Pro-Kremlin commentators in the US hailed the event as evidence that Western efforts to isolate Russia over the war in Ukraine had failed.
To convince the Kremlin to end the war, Trump has previously set ultimatums and deadlines; he has threatened further sanctions if Russia does not make peace.
But Trump has not carried out his threats, and this is another reason for Russia's self-confidence.
Putin publicly praises Trump's peace efforts. Yet he has rejected Trump's proposals for a ceasefire and has shown no willingness to make concessions on the war in Ukraine.
So where does this leave the prospects for peace?
Putin recently said he could see "light at the end of the tunnel."
It seems to me that right now Russia on the one hand and Ukraine and Europe (and to some extent America) on the other are in different tunnels, on different paths, with different destinations.
Ukraine and Europe are focused on ending the fighting, shaping security guarantees for Kiev, and ensuring that the Ukrainian military is strong enough after the war to prevent another invasion.
When Putin talks about “light at the end of the tunnel,” I believe he imagines a path that leads to a Russian victory in Ukraine and, more broadly, to building a new global order that benefits Russia.
In terms of peace, it is difficult to see where and when these two very different highways will converge. / Adapted from "Pamphlet", from "BBC"
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