After phone conversations with Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump said that the date of the meeting with the Kremlin leader has not yet been determined, but meetings will take place "here and there. The first talks are likely to take place in Saudi Arabia in the "not too distant future." The US president noted that after listening to Zelenskyy and Putin, he concluded that both want the war to end in a lasting peace and not resume later. When asked whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would attend the meeting, Trump replied: "First we will have the first meeting. And then we'll see what we can do about the second meeting." 

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, commenting on US President Donald Trump's phone conversation with the Kremlin leader, said that Ukraine needs to be deeply involved in all processes. According to Rutte, after Trump's conversation with Putin and his subsequent call to Ukrainian President Zelensky, "we will see how it all develops from this point on, step by step." It is very important that Kyiv is closely involved in everything that happens around Ukraine. "It will be crucial that when a peace agreement is reached, that Putin knows that this is the end, that he can never try to take over part of Ukraine again, so that has to be part of the negotiations, and no doubt President Trump also understands that," the NATO Secretary General emphasized.

American Defense Secretary Hagel believes that Russian aggression has become a "reset" of NATO, saying this before a meeting of NATO defense ministers, the Guardian reports. Journalists asked Hughes whether the latest US actions and statements are a betrayal of Ukraine. "Of course, this is not a betrayal. There is no betrayal; there is a recognition that the whole world and the United States are invested in a negotiated peace. Russia's aggression has become a reset of arms production for NATO and a moment of realization that the Alliance must be reliable, strong and real. That is why the US President has called for increased defense spending worldwide for NATO, and for European countries to recognize that this is an urgent and real threat to the continent. This aggression should be a wake-up call," he summarized. At the same time, President Trump emphasized that the United States will continue to send assistance to Ukraine, otherwise Putin will declare victory.

Many European countries rule out the possibility of negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine. A number of influential European politicians have emphasized the need for Kyiv to participate in negotiations on a future end to the war. The joint statement on February 13 following the meeting in Paris in the Weimar Plus format of the foreign ministers of France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Spain, the European Union, the European Commission, the United Kingdom and Ukraine emphasized that Ukraine and Europe should be part of any negotiations, and a just and lasting peace is a condition for strong transatlantic security. "Our common goals should be to put Ukraine in a position of strength. We remember that the security of the European continent is our shared responsibility. That is why we are working together to strengthen our collective defense," the statement reads.

Thus, the negotiation process to achieve peace in Ukraine is moving from political discussions to the practical realm of real negotiations and achieving lasting agreements. No one denies the importance of achieving peace in Ukraine, the only question that remains open is at what cost. Kyiv insists on achieving a just peace and receiving reliable security guarantees. And not at all the ones that were provided in the Budapest Memorandum.

On the day of the US Treasury Secretary's visit to Kyiv, Russia fired 6 Iskander ballistic missiles, which have a very strong destructive force, at the capital of Ukraine. Each Russian missile costs 3 million dollars, and they were shot down by 10 missiles Patriot, each also worth $3 million. So the attack cost 18 million, and the defense against it 30 million. This is the math of deterring the aggressor. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that this shelling of Kyiv was evidence that it was Russia, not Ukraine, that wanted to end the war from a position of strength. Therefore, the new US administration should take this into account. And delegating security guarantees to Ukraine to the Europeans cannot be the only step.

A just peace can be achieved with a stronger position of Ukraine. Moscow has already used negotiations to start a war again. It was exactly 10 years ago in February 2015 when the Minsk agreements were reached. Putin has trampled on these agreements, as well as the Budapest Memorandum, and has only become more dangerous in these 10 years. Only the combined efforts of Ukraine, the United States, and Europeans will force him to curb his territorial appetites. Moscow openly demonstrates contempt, so on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference these days it is important to reach agreements between Ukraine, the United States and Europe on how to restrain and discipline aggressive Russia. 

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