Description: The Russian deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has stated that the US hasn’t made any substantial progress in terms of achieving peace in Ukraine. He also complemented President Trump’s attempts on establishing a dialogue with Russia but remained adamant that talks on an equal basis would be the initiation point. Ryabkov also reconfirmed Russia’s position for even considering peace talks and reiterated Putin’s claims of Ukraine dropping all NATO ambitions and withdrawing troops from all de – facto-controlled territories by Russia.
Impact: The statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry was announced as a response to US ambitions towards Ukraine’s enriched deposits of minerals and other natural resources. Those territories are currently under Russian control and under those terms, Russia is strengthening its position politically with determining future narrative towards peace talks accession. The only bargaining chip Ukraine and the Western allies now have is the deflation of the Russian war economy which is closely related to Russia’s monopoly over the natural gas and oil market and its shadow fleet of ships. In the short to mid – term Russia would aim to entrench itself within the regions with the largest natural resources deposits, while EU and NATO allies could work towards facilitating the best approach towards draining Russia’s already weakened economy.