"This Isn't Just Absurd—it's The Height Of Cynicism."
- 22.10.2026, 13:23
A Ukrainian political analyst "tore into" Whitcoff over his comments about Putin.
Following a meeting between Russian President Putin and U.S. Presidential Envoy Steven Whitcroft, the Kremlin stated that is ready to resume negotiations in the Russia–U.S.–Ukraine format.
Is Russia truly ready for genuine peace talks? The website Charter97.org discussed this and other topics with renowned Ukrainian political scientist and head of the “Penta” Center for Applied Political Studies Vladimir Fesenko:
— The first thing to keep in mind is that we’re only talking about technical negotiations; the Kremlin has already stated that they intend to discuss only the structure of European security, including the security interests of Russia and Ukraine in the postwar period. These are not negotiations to end the war. That is the key point to keep in mind.
I want to emphasize that Russia has no intention of negotiating an end to the war at this time. Therefore, this agreement itself is yet another gesture toward Donald Trump, a gesture of goodwill on Putin’s part, a continuation of his game with Trump, but not an effort to end the war. The Kremlin continues its attacks on Ukraine; last night and this morning there was yet another massive missile attack on Kyiv.
So in this regard, nothing has changed yet, except for the resumption of negotiations, but on the Kremlin’s part, this is more of a tactic than a genuine desire to end the war.
— Whitcoff called Putin a “humanist”, while Republicans Cornyn and Tillis sharply criticized those remarks. What does this say about the mood within the U.S. administration and in Congress?
— As for the mood within the administration, you have to take Trump at his word. As for the mood in Congress, it varies. With elections coming up soon, some Republicans—and I want to emphasize, by no means all, but representatives of the party’s traditional wing, known as “Reaganites”—are criticizing both Trump’s diesel deal with Putin and Whitcoff.
After all, this isn’t just absurd— it’s the height of cynicism, and, of course, statements like this are perceived as outright insults: calling the man who started this bloody war—who is killing hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians—a “humanitarian” is beyond good and evil.
But it’s still too early to talk about any kind of split in the Republican Party. Unfortunately, at the moment, this has little impact on the situation within the Republican Party itself, and more importantly—on the actions of Trump and his administration.
— Putin proposed a meeting with Trump and Xi Jinping in China, excluding Ukraine and Europe. Do they have a chance for a new “Yalta”?
— A meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit is, first of all, not a special summit—it’s a meeting on the sidelines. Second, it’s not a meeting about Ukraine. The topic of Ukraine may be discussed at this meeting, but it is not intended to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Putin’s idea is different; he wants to create an illusion—a symbolic image of a new Yalta—and sees himself as a new Stalin. Stalin negotiated the postwar world order in 1945, but now Putin wants to create the same illusion—as if he is negotiating as the “victor” with Trump and Xi Jinping regarding the future world order. That is Putin’s main goal.
Naturally, he wants to negotiate (and many people are talking and writing about this) a certain division of spheres of influence. But the problem is that the interests of the three countries differ somewhat, and Trump is willing to negotiate on spheres of influence. Trump likes this narrative, where three leaders—the “premier league” of geopolitics—decide the fate of the world.
Trump is particularly inclined toward this worldview. However, the U.S. president is interested in discussing denuclearization—that is, limiting the nuclear capabilities of China and Russia—while China and Russia have no interest in this. Trump may want to discuss Iran and the war in the Middle East. Here, too, the interests of the U.S., China, and Russia diverge. And many commentators ask: Why would China want to elevate Russia’s status? China wants to negotiate directly with the Americans and has no interest in having a third party intrude on these agreements. China wants Russia to remain a dependent partner of China, rather than an equal player that would negotiate on equal terms with both China and the U.S.
So I’m skeptical about the effectiveness of this meeting, even if it does take place. But the question of whether it will take place has not yet been definitively resolved. Ushakov said that supposedly both Trump and Xi Jinping have given the go-ahead. Trump has publicly confirmed that he is ready for this meeting.
However, as Ushakov noted, the time and place where all three leaders can meet still need to be agreed upon. And that suggests the meeting has not yet been finalized.