The NATO summit, which started on July 7 in Ankara (Turkey) with the participation of the Presidents of the United States and Ukraine Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky, may bring certain advantages to the Ukrainian settlement, but is taking place against the backdrop of the process of “transformation of the world” that has already begun, American writer, historian and translator Richard Lurie suggested in an interview with RTVI.
Trump began his participation in the summit on Tuesday with a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. While answering questions from journalists, the head of the White House reiterated that, according to his information, both Moscow and Kyiv “want to make a deal” and “something could come of it.”
Shortly before the summit, on Saturday, July 4, Trump telephoned Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, after which he also stated that both countries were interested in a settlement. He also plans to meet with the Ukrainian leader in Ankara.
Lurie expressed the opinion that Russia and the United States should be allies and friends, but “this is still a long way off.” An expert on Russian-American relations, who worked with Hillary Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev, suggested that so far Trump’s promises to soon end the Ukrainian conflict and improve relations with Russia “are not being translated into reality.”
“Can Russia be friends with the West, or will it forever remain its enemy? There is no answer to this question, and we are further from it than usual,” Lurie emphasized.
The expert added that it would be possible to “take away a lot of positives” from the NATO summit, but Europe in any case will have to answer the question of whether the United States remains a reliable partner or “the point of no return has already been passed.”
“Europe now faces two most pressing questions: “Can Russia at least be a neutral partner?” and “What is on the minds of America and the Americans,” the historian added.
In his opinion, Trump “does not add positivity” to the prospects for partnership between the United States and Europe, but it cannot be ruled out that the situation will change under the next president.
“Now we are literally seeing the process of transformation of the world of the past into the world of the future. And what the Europeans do will be the biggest factor in the future of Ukraine,” Lurie added.
According to him, the “gravitational center” of the Ukrainian settlement is now concentrated in Moscow, and, as they say in the United States, the ball is on the Russian side of the field. At the same time, he suggested that there would be no quick solution to the problem.
