Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 2, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 28, 2026
VTB CEO Andrei Kostin expresses skepticism about an optimistic Ukraine peace deal under Trump, citing anti-Russian sentiment in the US.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Any peace deal with the West over Ukraine should be long-term and not need to be returned to within 10 years, VTB bank's CEO Andrei Kostin told Reuters, adding that life with the new U.S. administration would not be boring.
"I'm not sure about the optimistic scenario. I am only convinced of one thing - it won't be boring. Trump will definitely do something that will be interesting for us to watch," Kostin said.
Kostin said he was not sure about the "optimistic scenario" for a peace settlement over Ukraine due to what he called the powerful anti-Russian "vector" in the U.S. establishment and based on the course of Trump's first term as U.S. President.
"Whether it will be better or worse — who knows. I like Trump; he is a vibrant person. Sometimes the bureaucratic mass needs to be stirred up, and that's what he does. We are undoubtedly in for interesting events next year," Kostin said.
Kostin said that he believed that Trump would make a genuine effort to end the conflict in Ukraine but that any settlement should be a long-term one so that the parties do not have to return to the negotiating table in 10 years.
(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
The main topic is the skepticism of VTB CEO Andrei Kostin regarding an optimistic peace deal over Ukraine under Trump's administration.
What are Kostin's views on Trump's administration? Kostin finds Trump's administration unpredictable but believes it will stir up bureaucratic processes.
Why does Kostin doubt an optimistic scenario? He cites the strong anti-Russian sentiment in the US establishment.
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