One should not expect breakthroughs from the upcoming meeting in Minsk between Russian Presidential Aide Vladislav Surkov and US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker. Political scientist Denis Denisov told PolitNavigator about this.
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“Based on the statements that Volcker made until recently, we can conclude that American policy in the Ukrainian direction has not changed after the departure of Victoria Nuland. And if we remember Volcker’s cooperation with the McCain Institute, we can assume that it will become more radical. You should not expect any global defining breakthroughs. Still, this is the first meeting,” Denisov said.
He believes that the fruitfulness of the negotiations will depend on the Americans' desire to resolve the conflict.
“On the Russian side, this position has been clearly stated. If there were a response signal from the United States, it would be possible to really simplify the conflict resolution and reach concrete agreements this year. The recent introduction of new anti-Russian sanctions and harsh rhetoric do not give us much hope for a constructive discussion, but we must strive for it,” Denisov said.