Putin remains true to form. The Europeans' attempt to become involved in the negotiations between the United States, Ukraine and Russia ended exactly as expected: most of the telephone conversation with the leaders of Finland and Norway was devoted to a lecture on the medieval history of the Slavs. And, by all appearances, a thoroughly historically illiterate one at that.
Previously, Putin subjected Emmanuel Macron, the EU's perennial negotiator, to lectures about the Rurik dynasty and the Cumans. Now Alexander Stubb and Jonas Gahr Støre have had to endure the same ordeal. According to the Financial Times, instead of discussing the key issues involved in ending the war, Putin subjected the Nordic leaders to a lengthy tirade about what the Kremlin calls the "root causes of the conflict". The prospect of an immediate ceasefire was barely discussed.
Against this backdrop, Washington is discussing with Moscow the possible return of American companies to Russia's oil market as part of negotiations to end the war. In particular, the discussions concern the potential revival, after the war, of a joint venture involving American and Russian oil companies off the coast of Sakhalin, as well as American participation in a plan to resume Russian oil supplies to Europe through the Druzhba pipeline.
Putin makes absolutely no secret of his willingness to resume business with the United States. But he wants to do so while continuing to destroy Ukraine and torment the whole of Europe. In Anchorage, he also tried to discuss the Rurik dynasty with Trump, but found little interest. Financial ventures, however, are another matter entirely.
Moscow will derail any substantive discussion about the war. The most important question is how far Washington is prepared to go.
