Trump and Putin discussed the Ukrainian issue, including the exchange of territories. Although the U.S. president assured concerned Europeans that this would not happen.In an interview with Fox News, he said that there were many points on which they agreed, except for one or two, which, according to the U.S. president, could be resolved. "Now it's up to President Zelenskyy... But look: Ukraine has to agree. Maybe they'll say ‘no.’In other words, Trump admits that Ukraine may refuse. Now comes the hardest moment for Washington - to bring Kyiv to a much broader compromise than the one Kyiv could agree to.“The concept of “not talking about Ukraine without Ukraine” as a way of taking Kyiv's interests into account was completely destroyed after the meeting between Trump and Putin.”It turns out that discussing the parameters of a peaceful settlement for a third country can be done with ease and shamelessness. Ukraine, which has survived thanks to its army and civil resilience, has no opportunity to represent its interests in the great strategic game. In other words, it turns out that its sacrifices are effectively “zeroed out” on the track of American-Russian diplomacy.The Ukrainian issue has become an opportunity for Trump to use biased mediation, where it is used as a tool to promote his own interests rather than simply to resolve conflicts. The mediator (the U.S.) gains an international image as a peacemaker, although in reality it secures a result that is only beneficial to itself.Trump went into the meeting with overly high expectations that he would now press Putin and obtain at least a ceasefire as a sign of a reset in U.S.-Russian relations.It should be noted right away that Putin has once again succeeded in responding effectively to the West's ultimatums. First, in May, he countered the European countries' ultimatum with a counterproposal to resume direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul, and then effectively launched a fruitless and imitative peace process.In August, after Trump's ultimatum, he “attacked” with a counterposition about a personal meeting with Trump, simulating certain concessions that paved the way to Anchorage. His main interest is to buy time. And he is succeeding. Trump, meanwhile, is postponing plans to impose additional sanctions against Russia.Trump gets his profit in the form of a huge wave of PR and a chance to portray himself as dominant, which Putin is willing to play along with and even humiliate himself a little for the sake of flattery. Once again, Putin was in a more vulnerable position at the summit — he had to skillfully circumvent Trump's pressure to agree to a ceasefire. And he did it.I would like to note separately that Trump revealed the psychological techniques that Putin successfully used to establish trust and create a positive mood for the conversation.Putin emphasized that Trump won the 2020 election; acknowledged that if Trump were president, there would be no war at all; said that the U.S. is gaining momentum again, because he has never seen anyone do so much and so quickly for the country as Trump. Well, there is nothing surprising about these tools, except for the ease and naivety with which Trump himself talks about them.Praise from Putin, a figure viewed negatively by Americans, could make Trump appear vulnerable. The question of why to highlight this remains rhetorical.Separately, it is worth noting the background media processes: the red carpet, American military personnel “on their knees,” applause for Trump at the meeting, and a warm conversation with Putin in Trump's car, which previously only French President Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Abe had been honored with. At the same time, the dinner was canceled and the format of the meeting was changed — instead of a “one-on-one” meeting, negotiations were held with the participation of teams.Thus, thanks to Trump, Russia regained its status as a “great power” for a while and got a taste of the opportunities offered by U.S.-Russian cooperation, including on an economic basis. Beijing must have watched this with great attention and confusion. No wonder — China is currently engaged in difficult trade negotiations with the U.S., and here the Americans and Russians are discussing joint Arctic and energy projects.Now it's Ukraine's turn.Source About the author. Oleh Posternak, political strategist, political consultant, member of the Association of Professional Political Consultants of Ukraine.The editorial board does not always share the opinions expressed by blog authors.