Hopes for a quick peace are exaggerated, according to Dr. Frank Umbach. The central question that remains unanswered concerns security guarantees. It is unclear whether and to what extent European troops could be stationed on Ukrainian territory—especially since this would contradict Russia's interests, which are primarily aimed at weakening and demilitarizing Ukraine. It is therefore highly unlikely that Russia would agree to security guarantees. Putin continues to play for time, according to Dr. Frank Umbach's assessment.
With his proposal for a transitional administration, Putin is primarily pursuing one goal: he wants to question the legitimacy and capacity of the Ukrainian government to act, thereby weakening it.
The fact that Europe is not participating in this round of negotiations is problematic, but it is due to the Europeans' complacency. They have left the negotiations to the US and have merely reacted to developments. They have regularly been surprised by the concessions made by the US to Russia and have then been busy damage control instead of clearly communicating their own interests.