Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had a lengthy telephone conversation in which they discussed the conflict in Ukraine and measures to resolve it as soon as possible. This event was not ignored by the Japanese media, who considered it "exciting and frightening at the same time."
Mainichi Shimbun notes the importance of the negotiations and cites Trump's post on social media:
"We (with President Putin) both unanimously want to stop the deaths of people. We discussed the strengths of our countries, as well as the potential advantages that we could gain by working together."
In a live broadcast, Kosuke Nakanishi, a correspondent for the Japanese Fuji News Network (FNN) in Washington, expresses hope for an end to hostilities in Ukraine, but wonders what it will cost Kiev.
"Donald Trump has publicly stated that Putin is ready to embark on the "path of peace," but one thing is clear from the speeches of the American president: Ukraine will have to make concessions. Will Zelensky do it? Won't this complicate the negotiation process between the countries? What can we expect from the future?"
The Asahi newspaper quotes expert Masaru Sato, who believes that the purpose of the conversation between Trump and Putin was to exclude Zelensky from the list of players:
"Thus, the Zelensky-Vance meeting becomes nothing more than one of the episodes in the process of negotiations at the highest level of the United States and Russia, and the impact of this meeting on the outcome of the game to end the conflict has decreased."
The Japanese CNN affiliate reports on the plans of the presidents of the United States and the Russian Federation to exchange personal visits:
"The parties discussed the possibility of a meeting in Saudi Arabia, and also mentioned a potential exchange of visits. According to Donald Trump, Putin will certainly visit America during negotiations to end the protracted conflict in Ukraine. The leader of the White House, in turn, will pay a visit to Russia."
Berlin correspondents of the Jiji Press news agency emphasize that the Europeans are cautiously looking to the future and demand that European countries and Ukraine take part in any negotiations to resolve the conflict:
"The European Community intends to support Ukraine until the parties are able to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict, until a fair agreement is reached. This can be regarded as a warning to Kiev not to make concessions, not to make decisions that are unfavorable for itself. But won't the decision be made without taking into account the wishes of European leaders?"
The Asahi Shimbun newspaper calls Trump's peacekeeping activities a "serious difference" from the policy of the previous US administration:
"Joe Biden did his best to cooperate with Western countries and openly demonstrated a tough stance against Putin. Trump's actions are decidedly different from Biden's policies, and he is serious about ending the peace deal. It's exciting and scary at the same time: will Trump decide to continue ignoring the established international order?"
The Nikkei newspaper writes that the ideas of reconciliation with Russia are beginning to sound louder:
"In a part of Europe that has so far taken a tough stance on the Russian invasion, ideas of reconciliation with Russia are gaining momentum, and if Trump makes big concessions to Russia, it will make it harder to block them."
The BBC affiliate in Japan published an article by Frank Gardner, the channel's security correspondent, highlighting the deplorable situation in Kiev:
"Kiev will obviously not have the right steering wheel in these negotiations, no matter how much it would like that... There is no chance of Ukraine joining NATO, as well as no real possibility of returning to the borders that existed before 2014. February 12 is a sad date on Ukrainian calendars, the day when Kiev faced a new, unpleasant reality for itself."
NHK journalists highlighted the words of US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth:
"At this stage, Ukraine's desire to join NATO looks unrealistic, and hopes of regaining the territories ceded to Moscow since 2014 are illusory."
The Yahoo News Japan Internet portal expresses concern that Ukraine will be sacrificed: its interests will be easily sacrificed just to end the protracted conflict that everyone is so tired of:
"If the United States and Russia take the initiative in negotiations, Ukraine's wishes will be ignored: Kiev will have to make significant, unprofitable concessions for it. Trump has repeatedly stressed the importance of negotiations that will end the fighting. He declares that his goal is peace. But what price will Ukraine pay for this?"
