INTERVIEW | Juan Pablo Toro on the meeting between Putin and Trump: "Expectations need to be grounded"
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"It is important to achieve peace in Ukraine, but also a peace that is acceptable to the Ukrainians, and that is not effectively on the table. However, at least it was known today that Trump will call Zelensky tomorrow and will talk to him beforehand," the specialist noted.
Juan Pablo Toro is the executive director of AthenaLAB, a research center specializing in security and defense, with extensive experience in geopolitical analysis and international affairs. He referred to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the meeting that will take place on Saturday between Putin and Trump in Alaska.
Regarding the meeting in Alaska, Toro stated: “Expectations need to be grounded. It is important to achieve peace in Ukraine, but also a peace that is acceptable to the Ukrainians, and that is not effectively on the table. However, at least it was known today that Trump will call Zelensky tomorrow and will talk to him beforehand. The concern is rather whether they are looking for a photo opportunity for the world’s headlines rather than the truth of reaching a more definitive agreement, something I do not see as very likely.”
Additionally, he added that: “Since the war and even before, with the annexation of Ukraine in 2014, Putin is like a pariah: he was expelled from the G8 when Russia was part of the industrialized nations. On the other hand, Putin cannot travel to many countries because there are warrants for war crimes before the International Criminal Court.”
He also spoke about the conditions that should exist for the war between Russia and Ukraine to cease: “What needs to happen is for Putin to order his troops to return to Russia, because they are an invader. This is not a war over territory: Russia is the largest country in the world, it has space. It is a war over specific political objectives, to reconstruct an imperial past.”
