Former KGB Agent Identifies Major Obstacles Putin And Zelenskyy Must Overcome For Peace Talks

A former KGB agent outlined on Fox News Tuesday the deep-rooted political and personal barriers preventing Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from reaching a peace agreement.

President Donald Trump said Friday that Putin will meet with Zelenskyy following the Alaska Summit. In an interview with “The Will Cain Show,” former KGB agent Jack Barsky said that the hostility between the two leaders goes beyond current politics and reflects a national identity crisis that neither side is prepared to resolve.

“I’m picturing Zelenskyy and Putin sitting at the same table staring at each other. They hate each other like two people can hate each other, period. And that hatred is rooted in the history of both nations, started in the Middle Ages when the Kyivan Rus was formed,” Barsky told host Will Cain. “And I know enough Ukrainians and Russians to know that this hatred is not going to end.”

Barsky warned that any proposal for peace would face a deadlock. Putin and Zelenskyy, he added, would need to make concessions while having a level of trust that simply doesn’t exist between them.

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“Assuming that there is a proposal on the table that comes from the United States, based on what you just said, that means both players have to give something up and have to trust that the other side gives something up. It’s also there’s a personal aspect involved,” Barsky said.

The former agent said both leaders remain trapped by ego and ambition, unable to make compromises because neither wants to appear weak or walk away without claiming some form of victory.

“Both of these guys are narcissists, political narcissists who are working diligently on their legacy. They can’t walk away as losers. So they don’t trust each other. And so how can they trust that the other side will give something up too so they can walk away as not losers, but sort of at least play it that way that, you know, we won something?” Barsky asked. (RELATED: ‘The Man Is A Fool’: Brit Hume Explains Putin’s ‘Utter Failure’ And Why ‘He Will Pay For It’)

Trump met with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Monday to explore options for ending the conflict with Russia. Several European leaders also joined the discussions at the White House to review potential terms for a peace agreement. Before the talks began, Trump urged Zelenskyy to abandon efforts to join NATO and reclaim Crimea.

Following the meeting, Trump announced on Truth Social that he had wrapped up discussions with Zelenskyy and the European delegates. He said that the group addressed possible security arrangements, which would involve coordination between the United States and European nations. After the talks, Trump said he called Putin to begin planning a face-to-face meeting with Zelenskyy.

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