On August 1 local time, Trump suddenly made a decision: sending two nuclear submarines to the "relevant area", gradually approaching Russia. The reason given was that Russian officials, Medvedev, made "provocative" remarks, and the United States needed to take action to protect the American people.

What exactly did Medvedev say that was considered "provocative"?

It turned out that Trump had previously issued an ultimatum to Russia, threatening Putin and Ukraine to reach a peace agreement within 50 days, otherwise they would face increased taxes and "secondary sanctions". However, he later changed his mind, shortening the deadline to 10 or 12 days.

Facing Trump's escalating pressure, Medvedev could not bear it, warning that each of Trump's ultimatums was a threat of war, and emphasizing that Russia possesses the ultimate nuclear strike capability from the Soviet era.

Given Trump's personality, how could he tolerate someone issuing threats to him? So he took this as an excuse to conduct strategic deterrence against Russia. Although he did not clearly state where the "relevant area" is, the danger is self-evident.

However, Trump's move is likely intended to further strengthen the pressure in the final stage, forcing Russia to act according to America's wishes on the Ukraine conflict issue.

After all, he previously gave a 10-day ultimatum, but Russia remained unmoved. Now, using military actions to escalate the situation seems more like giving Russia a "pressure card" at the negotiation table.

Interestingly, at almost the same time, when asked if he would meet with Putin soon, Trump said he had arranged a meeting, perhaps this meeting is giving Putin a last chance.

When reporters asked whether he would meet with Putin before the 10-day ultimatum expired, he didn't say for sure, only vaguely replied, "Let's see the situation first, the meeting is already arranged, and the answer will come naturally then."

He also specifically mentioned that Putin is a "hard-core president," which is just emphasizing that Putin is not easy to deal with.

So what are Russia's responses? First, Putin stated that Russia expects to continue dialogue with Ukraine. If Ukraine has no intention of doing so, he will wait patiently. This sounds like lowering the tone, but actually, it's still passing the ball to Ukraine.

The most important thing is that Putin emphasized that to completely solve the problem, just talking about the current ceasefire is not enough. It needs to address the root causes of the conflict, which is the goal of the negotiations, implying that Russia will not easily give up on its core interests.

Puvin's ceasefire conditions are clear, with two main points: one is that Ukrainian forces must completely withdraw from the four eastern Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson; the second is that Kyiv must make a commitment not to join NATO.

In other words, if Ukraine cannot meet these two conditions, Russia is willing to continue waiting.

Following this, Putin also set the tone for the frontline fighting, stating that the Russian army is advancing in all areas of combat and praising it all thanks to the bravery and fearlessness of the Russian soldiers, undoubtedly boosting morale among the Russian troops.

This statement is both to convey confidence to the domestic public and to send a signal to the outside world: the Russian military offensive has not stopped, and it has the ability to maintain pressure in all directions.

Notably, Putin's close associate Lavrov gave the Americans a way out, saying that Russia recognizes the US's "responsible position," emphasizing that, as Secretary of State Rubio said, it should not allow real military confrontation between the US and Russia.

This statement is both an attempt to ease the situation and a way to leave room for themselves. On the surface, it says "acknowledge," but in reality, it is emphasizing that the bottom line of confrontation must be maintained. If it crosses that line, it will not be beneficial to anyone.

In summary, as two US nuclear submarines gradually approach Russia, the meeting between Putin and Trump may be getting closer. However, will this much-anticipated meeting become a turning point for easing the situation, or just become an empty shell for mutual testing? We'll have to wait and see.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7533856829232546319/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author and welcomes your opinion by clicking on the 【top/down】 button below.