STORY: :: A political scientist says a U.S.-Russian 'peace deal' was at the center of Trump-Putin talks, rather than Ukraine
:: Cologne, Germany
:: August 15, 2025
:: Klemens Fischer, University of Cologne
"So the end is, at the end, that Ukraine was a kind of trampoline for the whole thing. They used it as a cause to meet, but Ukraine wasn't the center of negotiations. In the center of negotiations was a new peace deal between Russia and the U.S. And it was even the motto that we had seen there, pursuing peace. And for Ukraine it was a very sad moment because at the end of the day Ukraine wasn't even on the table as a chance to see that they might possibly get a truce or a ceasefire. Nothing was on the table."
"For Ukraine, it means that Mr. Zelenskiy has no space for maneuvering. Either he takes the deal or he leaves. And one thing is for sure, if he leaves the deal, he has no support by the Americans anymore. Neither weapons, nor logistics, nor intelligence. So he must depend on the Europeans, and the Europeans are not able, in any way, to jump in the gap, which will be open when the Americans leave."
Fischer told Reuters he thought Ukraine was used as a 'pretext to meet' but wasn't the center of negotiations.
He suggested the meeting's outcome was predetermined: "Both knew what they would sign at the end, even if you don't sign a document, but both agreed before the whole summit started."
The summit marked the first high-level U.S.-Russia meeting since 2021.
For Trump, the meeting represented an opportunity to advance American economic interests, while for Putin it meant a return to the global diplomatic stage, Fischer said, noting that Europe was completely marginalized.
For the Europeans, it is, I think, one of the last calls to wake up--and to start rebuilding their armed forces, because they have to do everything to show deterrence against the Russians,' Fischer added."
He warned that Europe might have 'a window of four, five, or six years to build up deterrence' against potential Russian westward expansion.
Before Friday's summit, European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, held a virtual meeting with Trump. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said afterward that he had urged Trump to pursue a peace in Ukraine that would protect European and Ukrainian security interests.
