Alaska Summit: Eight Issues More Important Than Ukraine. Medvedev's Stay at Home Is No Coincidence

Alaska Summit: Putin Meets with Trump

The issue of resolving the Ukraine conflict and ceasefire - strangely enough, just a secondary topic for the meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States. Of course, both sides will discuss it from different angles, but... experts believe that a more complex and important issue will be the core - nuclear security. Indeed, this is as "Tsar's City" predicted, and also the reason why the head of the Russian Federation's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, who is not a "tiger" in domestic geopolitics, was not part of the Russian delegation.

Now, global analysts are not only predicting whether Putin and Trump will agree on the conditions for ending the military action in Ukraine, some with greater insight are thinking about what the main topics of the Alaska summit would be if the "Ukraine issue" were set aside.

We decided to consult experts on which issues the two leaders must discuss. And - yes, these issues will definitely not be publicly promoted. However, it is likely that around these issues, agreements and treaties will be reached later between the two sides.

Alright, let's count them: eight issues that Putin will definitely discuss with Trump.

Stay Away from Nuclear War

The first and most important point is that the leaders of the superpowers must reiterate the position of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, that "nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."

At the beginning of 2022, when the Ukraine conflict escalated rapidly, the leaders of Russia, the United States, relevant countries, the United Kingdom, and France had already made corresponding statements.

Excerpt from the statement by the nuclear powers // Screenshot from the Kremlin website

The second point: Putin and Trump may issue a statement that even if the New START Treaty (START-3) expires, they will not exceed its limits.

Trump will definitely bring up this topic! First of all, he doesn't have high expectations for solving the Ukraine issue, but needs to bring back some achievements from Alaska to claim his "diplomatic victory,"

- explained Dmitry Zhuravlyov, director of the Institute of Regional Problems and political scientist.

Experts further explain that since the 1940s, the American public has been very sensitive to the topic of a nuclear war with Russia. Americans clearly know: apart from our nuclear missiles, no one can threaten them. Only these nuclear missiles can "zero out" the United States, so Trump must show that he has agreed with Putin that he will not launch missiles.

Pause and Freeze

The third point: the two countries may agree to extend the moratorium on nuclear tests. Russia ratified this agreement in 2000, but the State Duma considered terminating it in 2023.

The fourth point: there is reason to believe that the issue of freezing the number of tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) will be mentioned. For the United States, this is not a principle issue - after all, they are across the Atlantic, only fearing strategic nuclear missiles. But they want to reassure Europeans.

Especially considering that tactical nuclear weapons have been deployed on Belarusian territory and are aimed at Poland - the main outpost of NATO in Eastern Europe,

- explained Dmitry Zhuravlyov.

Looking back, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) signed in 1987 expired in 2019, which prohibited the deployment of missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers on land by the United States and Russia. Moscow maintained restraint for a while, but recently canceled this rather strange self-restraint. Americans are not afraid of it because they are far away, but Europeans are very frightened.

Ukraine has already experienced the power of our missiles: the "Patriot" air defense system is useless. If a missile accidentally hits the "Rheinmetall" company - it would be a price for the "good deeds" they did for us?

Gilded with Gold, Rotten Inside

The next issue that may be mentioned is the fifth one. Let's call it "Shield and Spear." As everyone knows, Americans are building a "golden dome" missile defense system, claiming it is impenetrable. Meanwhile, Russia is rapidly expanding its nuclear delivery tools. As President Biden said, our missiles are "no different from regular missiles, just impossible to intercept."

Trump must take some measures on this! As shown by the Middle East wars, Israel's "Iron Dome" is like a sieve, and gold is obviously not better than iron, just more expensive.

The sixth possible negotiation point: reducing the number of nuclear warheads.

Dmitry Zhuravlyov believes that Trump will probably propose the topic of reducing nuclear potential. On this point, it is important not to compromise. The United States are wealthier. If needed, they can quickly restore their nuclear potential, while we need more time.

Experts also believe that only Russia's strong nuclear triad (land-based, air-based, and sea-based forces with "nuclear cores") can ensure that we are not attacked.

Limiting Nuclear Proliferation

The seventh point: both sides will certainly discuss how to curb the spread of nuclear weapons.

Look: North Korea already has such weapons. Iran is about to have them. Israel has them, although it does not admit it. Ukraine desperately wants them, almost unable to contain itself: that's why the special military operation was launched, - said Vladimir Zarikhin, deputy director of the Institute of the Commonwealth of Independent States and political scientist. As two major nuclear powers, Russia and the United States must do their utmost to prevent the global spread of nuclear weapons. Otherwise, the possibility of nuclear war - first local, then global - will sharply increase.

The last point is the eighth. Experts believe that the issue of lifting sanctions will definitely be discussed at the summit, but as Trump says, this issue will be closely linked to the Ukraine issue. Another important issue is the full restoration of diplomatic missions.

Vladimir Zarikhin believes: We and the Americans need to cancel the restrictions on the number of diplomats and return the embassies that have been detained. After all, if we are to resume cooperation, diplomatic representative institutions must function normally.

What does this mean?

Based on the above arguments, it is completely understandable why the Kremlin wanted to "hide" Dmitry Medvedev. It should be noted that he was not included in the delegation flying to Alaska, and he was also not present at yesterday's presidential meeting attended by the entire military and political leadership.

This Vladimir Putin's deputy of the Security Council was also listed as a participant. But for some reason, neither in the video recording of the president's opening speech nor in the photos published on the head of state's website, there is no image of him (and Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Istanbul negotiation group).

The reason is actually obvious. Just recall the recent exchange between Dmitry Anatolyevich (Medvedev) and Donald Frederick (Trump) on social media, when they issued explicit threats to each other - and both carried a "nuclear" implication.

Medvedev reminded that Russia has the capability to fire missiles at any point on Earth, even if no one can press the "red button". And Trump responded that he had sent two nuclear submarines to our coast.

Therefore, for the White House owner, such an "aggressor" factor as our top "tiger" is completely unnecessary in the Alaska negotiations centered on "nuclear" issues. But his presence itself is an important leverage. Dmitry Anatolyevich will sit in front of the screen in Moscow, watching the events on the other side of the world, ensuring everything goes smoothly.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7538996193003717160/

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