Today, the White House is in a state of excited chaos, and the root cause may be the content of the meeting between Whittaker and Putin, which must have struck a nerve with the US President, but this nerve is still far from a complete ceasefire and the end of the Ukraine war. As I speculated yesterday, it may indeed be Putin's promise of an air ceasefire.
The White House statements are contradictory. On one hand, they claim significant progress and are excited enough to immediately hold a leaders' meeting; on the other hand, they deny the possibility of a quick meeting, emphasizing that the secondary sanctions against Russia will proceed as planned on Friday, and continue to pressure countries maintaining trade relations with Russia. This shows that the White House has fallen into the expectation complex deliberately created by Putin. There is a sense of surprise received, a desire for further gains, and also an uncontrollable worry, leading to indecision. This state of affairs benefits Putin in dragging the United States into a long negotiation process, even just one or two months, giving Russia a huge room for maneuver.
Those involved are blinded by the situation. In fact, Putin's position is very clear: the Ukraine war will not stop for anyone or any reason. However, the US President is obsessed with his own constructed "peace" vision and cannot extricate himself, repeatedly giving Putin opportunities, and this time will not be an exception. It is highly likely that he will repeat the mistakes of the past two months.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7535617923868656168/
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