Ambassador Garčević on Peace Talks and Ukraine for TRT World
In an interview with TRT World, broadcast on December 8, 2025, Ambassador Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, discussed the outcomes of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meetings with UK, French, and German leaders in London earlier that day.
During the conversation, Ambassador Garčević emphasized that President Zelensky has found himself “between two fires.” He can either yield to Washington’s pressure to concede part of Ukraine’s territory or risk straining relations with the current U.S. administration. While the United States is actively undermining Kyiv’s position—seeking to demonstrate that Ukraine cannot withstand Russia’s war of attrition without Washington’s support—Zelensky has been trying to strengthen his bargaining position by seeking support from European partners.
Garčević described the approach of the European Coalition of the Willing as twofold. Their unwavering support for Ukraine is not merely symbolic; European allies, sidelined by the US and Russia, want to seize the momentum and assert themselves as indispensable actors in ongoing peace negotiations. The Coalition, as French President Emmanuel Macron noted, aims to demonstrate that “Europeans have a lot of cards in their hands” and are capable of providing credible security guarantees for Ukraine.
The full interview can be viewed here.
Vesko Garčević is a professor of the practice of international studies at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and the director of the Center for the Study of Europe. An expert on multilateral issues, Garčević is the co-author of Montenegro and Serbia: A Velvet Divorce? (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025) which explores the divergent past between Serbia and Montenegro between 1988 and 2023. To read more about his work and accomplishments, visit his faculty profile.