Are Ukraine peace talks stalling as Trump shifts focus to the Middle East? | Mariya Zolkina

In this episode of World Talks, Mariya Zolkina, Head of the "Regional Security and Conflict Studies" Department at the Ilko Kucheriv  Democratic  Initiatives Foundation and Associate Research Fellow at the London School of Economics IDEAS, discussed how U.S. attention is currently focused on the Middle East, leaving Ukraine peace talks stalled.

As previous negotiations have had no success, Donald Trump might expect Ukraine to make concessions, which Kyiv firmly rejects. Zolkina highlighted that Europe has grown stronger and more united in supporting Ukraine, saying that “Europe is much stronger than it was six or nine months ago.” This shift gives Ukraine a stronger position at the negotiation table while reducing Europe’s reliance on the U.S. for security decisions. Finally, she noted that while the Middle East conflict indirectly affects the Russian war on Ukraine, it mostly strengthens Ukraine’s position rather than weakening it.

Host: Benjamin Lee