Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
Opinion
Home / Opinion / Opinion Line

Any deal will put US' economic interests first

By LI YANG | CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2025-02-20 07:55
Share
Share - WeChat
In this handout picture released by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during their meeting at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb 18, 2025. [Photo/Agencies]

Those hoping to see a quick end to the Ukraine crisis after the closed-door talks between the top diplomats of Russia and the United States in Riyadh on Tuesday should be realistic about the gulf between the wish and reality.

Although that was said to be part of the agenda of the meeting, to repair the long-stalled relations between Moscow and Washington, and recover bilateral economic and trade relations between Russia and the US seem to have been the focus of the talks that lasted for about four and a half hours, with both sides saying the discussions were "not bad".

There should be no doubt now about the extraordinary about-face in the US' Russia policy under the Donald Trump administration, which is apparently not only intent on ending the Ukraine crisis as soon as possible but more importantly maximizing the US' interests in the process.

To most people, the priority should be to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict first and then try to explore the opportunity to repair ties with Russia. But Trump seems to be ready to do the latter first.

So to what extent the peace process gathers momentum hinges on how well the interests of Washington and Moscow are served.

Responding to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's complaints that Kyiv was not invited to the talks, Trump said during a news conference at his Florida residence, "Well, you have been there for three years. You should have ended it three years ago", and "You should have never started it. You could have made a deal".

The talks in Saudi Arabia, which also excluded any other European representatives, are also further evidence that the transatlantic relationship is no longer sacrosanct. The new US leader obviously cares more about the European Union's trade surplus with the US than forming a united front against Russia.

If the EU chooses to obstinately stick to its animosity toward Russia then it will face economic bullying from the US at a time when it will have to pay more for its security.

The EU should reflect on its lack of strategic autonomy that has resulted in it having no say in the design of a new security architecture for Europe that is undoubtedly being hatched while it fusses and frets.

 

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
精品无码久久久久久尤物,99视频这有这里有精品,国产UU精品无码视频,女同精品一区二区网站