Russia is creating "a more extensive buffer zone" in Ukraine.
10-07-2026 18:06 Press of Diaspora
1in.am On July 8, U.S. President Donald Trump announced in Ankara that he would have a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the same day. The parties did not release any information about this. Some experts suggest that Trump "refused to communicate with Putin at the last minute." There is also an opinion that after the Trump-Zelensky meeting, "Putin saw no need for dialogue with the U.S. president."
On July 10, the press secretary of the Russian president, Peskov, told reporters that Moscow is "open to diplomatic-political resolution, but due to the lack of desire from the Kyiv side, this is currently not possible." Peskov announced that Russia "will continue the special military operation to create a more extensive buffer-security zone."
It can be considered that thus the Kremlin not only rejected the proposal for a ceasefire but also announced a new large-scale attack. There is expert opinion that a new assault against Ukraine "will begin after the State Duma elections." It is assumed that President Putin will "declare a mobilization."
On July 9, "Deutsche Welle" published a text interview with former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, in which he made this prediction: "Putin is losing in Ukraine, and I am convinced that he will simultaneously begin expansion towards Belarus, Georgia, and Armenia." He justified that the Russian president "has already demanded from Georgia's de facto Prime Minister Ivanishvili to recognize the independence of occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia, so establishing complete control over Tbilisi is only a matter of time."
The President of Georgia, however, is "satisfied" with Donald Trump's actions, although "many Ukrainians are dissatisfied with his statements," but he advised to pay attention to how the Americans "are pushing Russia out of the Caucasus" and it will become clear that "no American president has been as harsh towards Russia since Reagan."
Mikheil Saakashvili seems to have excluded Azerbaijan from the "roadmap" for reaffirming Russia's influence in the Caucasus. There is now Turkey instead. In Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Russia has "peacekeeping forces," and it has the 102nd military base in Armenia. But perhaps, for planning further events, Russia first needs to "create a more extensive buffer-security zone in Ukraine."
* This text was automatically translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
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