Name: Russia expert on 'most important' issue for US to raise during talks with Russia
Uploaded: 2025-02-17T03:23:53.000Z
Duration: 7 min 33 s
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To-infinitive

Joining me now to discuss this, CNN contributor and former CNN Moscow bureau chief, Jill Dougherty.

Gerund

The superlative

I want to ask, what do you see as the most important issue for the U.S. to raise during these talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday?

Well, ultimately, I think the most important thing overall is long-term security.

I mean, they eventually will probably come up with some sort of immediate ceasefire or whatever you want to call it.

But nobody really believes that the ceasefire is going to last until you know where you're going after the ceasefire, or at least during the ceasefire.

Because the question is really, would Russia be able to come back after some type of period and perhaps attack Ukraine again?

Or as some of the countries in the region believe or fear, that they might actually try to invade or move into another country in the region.

Now, the Russians say we have no intention, but still, this really is a question.

You know, short-term, and obviously, Paula, right now, there's a lot of short-term going on.

There aren't a lot of details, but the details have to be clear if you're going to have long-term security.

What do you make of the fact that Ukraine will not be present at these talks in Saudi Arabia, but instead will be part of dual negotiations in Kyiv?

I think if you talk to President Zelensky, probably off the record, he would be very concerned.

I think the Ukrainians, there's no question, feel that they are being at least put in second place at this point, because a lot of the immediate dialogue is between the United States and Russia, and specifically between Putin and Trump.

And Zelensky is feeling that he is somehow, you know, the second thought in the administration, not the first.

So, that is a problem, but he does not have, at this point, a really strong negotiating position.

You know, the war has been going very poorly at this point, or at least it's kind of in a situation of stasis.

He has to make the best of a bad situation, and he was counting originally on the United States to really, you know, stand by them.

Now, the administration, there are a lot of, you know, as you can see, I'm saying now, but, because there are a lot of sides to this, but the administration would say, no, no, they will be part of this, don't worry.

When everything's already on the table and they don't get a way to define where everything's going?

Well, Trump's special envoy to Russia and Ukraine says there will need to be concessions from Russia.

At this point, it appears in public statements, at least initially by the administration, and especially administration officials, Secretary Hegseth, the defense secretaries especially, that Russia is going to get a promise of no NATO membership for Ukraine.

It will probably also get territorial concessions, meaning the territory that it has taken from Ukraine will remain under Russian control.

They are looking at economic sanctions, you just mentioned that, that it would be huge for Russia to get a lot of those economic sanctions rolled back.

But so far, I truly don't see a lot that Russia is being asked to give at this point.

That said, there aren't a lot of specific, concrete details of what we're talking about.

There's a lot of talk, we've got to end it and end it quickly, but exactly how is still a big question.

European leaders will be holding an emergency summit tomorrow in response to the U.S. leaving them out from these peace talks.

How do you think the Kremlin views this push from Europe to unify without the support of the U.S.?

Oh, well, I mean, if you look at the Russian media, they're very happy about this because they feel that the Europeans are panicking, that the Europeans aren't quite sure.

They feel that they, too, are being, let's say, left out of the initial negotiations or discussions, which they are.

And they also feel that they are the people who will be called upon, the Europeans, to carry out some type of ceasefire.

And if Europe is worried, and they are concerned about the United States, and they're trying to get their act together and be unified, that is exactly where Vladimir Putin wants them.

He wants them divided, confused, and worried.

And so right now, I think Putin probably feels very good about this.

You can just hear in Fred's report, the quote from the Kremlin, they're pretty happy about all this.

Before I let you go, today marks one year since the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

His family gathered at his grave earlier today.

I want to play a clip of one of the last interviews he gave for the CNN film documentary, Navalny.

My message for the situation when I am killed is very simple, not give up.

Do me a favor, answer this one in Russian.

What is the state of opposition in Russia right now, Jill?

Well, they are completely excluded from any type of public participation in Russia at this point.

Nobody can go on the streets to protest, although there were lines for the grave of Alexei Navalny in Moscow today.

But the problem with the opposition right now is they don't really have a leader who is as strong and charismatic as Navalny was.

And he is gone, his wife valiantly speaks around the world, but she's not Navalny.

And so I think at this point, the opposition would really like to have somebody with that sheer political force and public influence that he had.

But there really is no one at this point.

So it's a, I would say, a sad day on many levels for the opposition.

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Russia expert on 'most important' issue for US to raise during talks with Russia

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