Next week, representatives from the United States and Ukraine will meet in Saudi Arabia. According to Ukraine, the discussions will focus on realistic proposals. Estonian Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) stated that before any deeper peace process can begin, Ukrainians primarily seek secure airspace.

"In other words, Ukraine's positions cannot always be under attack. Secondly, the maritime domain must be secured to prevent any attacks at sea. And, of course, there is the question of how a ceasefire or truce could be guaranteed and who would enforce it," Pevkur outlined.

There is more uncertainty regarding U.S. objectives. According to U.S. expert Andreas Kaju, the issue with these negotiations so far has been that only what Ukraine must give up and what is being demanded from them has been publicly discussed. However, it remains unclear how, or if, Russia is being pressured.

"We got a glimpse of this when former President Donald Trump recently said that after Russia once again launched a highly aggressive attack on Ukrainian territory, including civilian infrastructure, the 'mother of all financial and banking sanctions' was waiting at the door if the Russians did not stop immediately. But that is certainly not enough," Kaju said.

Kaju believes that the only real incentive for Russia to engage in negotiations would be if they were certain that, otherwise, Ukraine would receive significantly more military aid from the U.S.

For now, however, Russia is trying to strengthen its position in every possible way. Security expert Rainer Saks noted that this is why, during its latest offensive over the past week, Russia has primarily carried out attacks within its own territory in the Kursk region.

"There is a clear political objective to regain control of this area before the U.S.-driven negotiations between Russia and Ukraine or any discussions about a peace deal or ceasefire begin. Essentially, it is evident that the Russian military command is attempting to resolve this issue at a very rapid pace," Saks explained.

"Russia's interest is clearly to ensure that territorial demands are not on the negotiating table — at least not from Ukraine's side. Of course, Ukraine will make such demands in an effort to reclaim its territories, but if they don't even have Kursk to bargain with, it becomes much more difficult. That is why Russia is keen on recapturing the Kursk areas as quickly as possible," Pevkur added.

According to Pevkur, Ukraine is confident that it will eventually reach an agreement with the U.S. on restoring both military aid and intelligence sharing. However, the road to peace remains long.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!