Why Putin has the upper hand in negotiations — Goff

Former CIA officer Ralph Goff says that the Russians are much better negotiators than the U.S. in the current peace talks. According to Goff, Russia has been the most consistent party because they refuse to come to the negotiating table. 

Ralph Goff said this in an exclusive interview with Ukraine Breaking News.

The dead end in the peace talks and ways to overcome it

In the interview, Goff emphasized that the negotiations to end the Russia's war in Ukraine were not at all standard and seemed more like a roller coaster for all the parties involved in the talks. 

"I think it still remains to be seen just how hard the Russians will stick to all 28 points. The Russians are, I think, far better negotiators at this than are the Americans. And Vladimir Putin and his team have been very careful not to really shed any light on what their true ulterior motives are," says Goff.

He doesn't foresee any breakthroughs in the near future and notes that much depends on European countries.

"I think the Europeans, if they can come up with a unified position and back it up with increased military support, increased financial support to Ukraine, I think there may be an opportunity here to maybe push forward and get the Russians more interested in serious negotiations," Goff said.

The recent $90 billion aid package from European partners is a good start, but Ukraine still needs more weaponry.

"The famous German Taurus missiles would be a big, would be a good start. And then increased amounts of technical assistance, intelligence assistance," Goff specifies.

 Also, Goff sees the problem with Europe buying Russian oil and gas, which means they pay for it more than they provide Ukraine in aid, saying "that imbalance needs to be addressed".

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