Samantha de Bendern, Associate Fellow at Chatham House, tells ITV News that Russia has a long history of exploiting the weaknesses of its opponents.
She said: "We’re seeing this desire by Putin to separate the US from the rest of the West, and to create a complete division within Nato, with the Western alliance, which will of course make us all a lot weaker, which is what his endgame is."
"It’s a real mistake to underestimate Russia’s potential here. First of all, Putin has put the whole Russian economy on a war footing."
"Experience shows that if you show Russia you are weak, Russia then takes advantage of that weakness"
But can Donald Trump encourage a peace deal?
Samantha de Bendern said: "Putin wants the absolute, complete weakening of the Western alliance, and that includes the United States. President Trump does seem able to get that on board."
"I’m not very optimistic about these talks, but I will try to keep an open mind, because otherwise we all just give up at this point."
• Subscribe to ITV News on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2lOHmNj
• Get breaking news and more stories at http://www.itv.com/news
Follows ITV News on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@itvnews?lang=en
Follow ITV News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itvnews/
Follow ITV News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itvnews/
Follow ITV News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/itvnews
