Putin is afraid of a pause on the front: stopping the war threatens him with a loss of power — political analyst Matvienko
The meeting between Donald Trump and vladimir putin, which the kremlin actively promoted as a "negotiation breakthrough", was canceled due to russia’s unwillingness to agree to a ceasefire. This was stated in an interview with OstroV by political expert Kostiantyn Matvienko.
According to him, after the phone conversation between the leaders and the preliminary agreement, contacts with the russian side shifted from Steve Witkoff to Marco Rubio, one of the key representatives of Trump’s team on foreign policy issues.
“Rubio is a man with a very clear understanding of what the russian federation is and who putin is. He positions himself as the successor to Senator McCain — a straightforward ‘hawk’. His main goal is to prevent Trump from appearing weak in the world”, - Matvienko explained.
After consultations with the russians, it became clear that moscow is not ready for any real agreements on a ceasefire.
“If Trump had flown to Budapest without results, it would have been a reputational catastrophe. That is why Rubio became the key player in canceling this meeting”, - the expert noted.
Matvienko emphasized that despite russian propaganda statements about a “postponement”, in diplomacy this means a full cancellation: there is no date, nor an agreed agenda.
The prospect of such a meeting is only possible under a ceasefire, the political analyst stresses. But the kremlin will not agree to that.
“Putin sincerely believes he can make Ukraine surrender — disrupt our heating season, cause a collapse on the front. He makes decisions without real data on losses and resources. And for him, announcing a pause means putting the logic of the entire war into question”, - the expert said.
He also noted that domestic political risks for the kremlin in case of any retreat become critical.
“If the russians are told to stop, they will ask: ‘Why all these years of fighting? Where is the result? We have received isolation, loss of resources, and over a million killed and wounded — what for?’ It is precisely these questions that putin fears the most”, - Matvienko concluded.