(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine (1998-2000) Steven Pifer said this in an exclusive comment to Ukrinform.

"I do not believe that Russia's latest attacks represent a fundamental rejection of the negotiating process. However, Moscow is unwilling at this point to negotiate on the basis of anything other than its demands, which Kyiv understandably rejects because those demands amount to capitulation," he said.

He was responding to a question about whether Russia's renewed large-scale airstrikes indicate that Moscow has abandoned diplomacy as a means of resolving the conflict.

According to Pifer, Putin still believes he can win on the battlefield.

"Ukraine and its supporters need to figure out how to disabuse Putin of that belief and persuade him that he will fail on the battlefield and only incur greater political, economic and military costs for Russia," he said.

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Such a shift, Pifer added, could prompt a more serious Russian negotiating approach.

In this context, he also noted that U.S. President Donald Trump could contribute to this by increasing pressure on Moscow.

On October 22, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against Russia's two major oil companies – Rosneft and Lukoil – while urging Moscow to immediately agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Photo: Yaroslav Dovgopol

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