Trump and Putin again speak of Ukraine, but Moscow has so far avoided any attempt at serious negotiations

For four months, Russian President Vladimir Putin has succeeded in showing sufficient interest in negotiations about the end of the war in Ukraine to keep US President Donald Trump satisfied. If both leaders speak to each other again by telephone on Monday afternoon (Dutch time), Trump will again insist on a deal at Putin, as the US President announced last weekend. The chance that Putin agrees with a peace proposal that is acceptable to Ukraine – and the rest of Europe – seems minimal.

Nevertheless, Trumps special envoys Steve Witkoff expects ‘a very successful phone call’. Such statements seem to be part of the standard repertoire of the Trump government. But the facts show that the American attempts to end the war have not yielded anything so far.

On the contrary. The Russians have revenued their attacks on Ukraine, and especially on the civilian population, since Trump has set up as a peacemaker who wants to put an end to the ‘massacre’. In the night from Saturday to Sunday-less than day after the broken Ukrainian-Russian negotiations in Istanbul-Russia launched 273 attack drones to Ukraine, the largest number since the start of the 2022 invasion.

Broken negotiations

Those negotiations in Istanbul, the first direct contact between Kyiv and Moscow since 2022, were kept under pressure from President Trump on Friday, but did not yield anything. While President Volodyymyr Zensky traveled to Turkey to meet Putin personally, the Russian leader sent a low delegation. In the meantime, Trump said that progress can only be made in direct consultation between him and Putin.

Although Trump occasionally spent the Russian president in recent weeks punishing via social media, under Trumps presidency, Washington has not yet taken a single measure that Subms Substitute. Trump threatened a few times with extra sanctions in recent months, but so far it remains with warnings.

Putin seems to feel that fine. Just as the former American ambassador in Ukraine Bridget Brink recently expressed it: « Since the appointment of this government, the policy has been to put pressure on the victim, Ukraine, instead of the aggressor, Russia. »

American proposal

Two months ago, Ukraine unconditionally agreed to an American proposal for a ceasefire of thirty days. Russia rejected that American plan and came up with a whole series of conditions for a file.

Putin does not seem to have a serious interest in a quick end of the war. Russia is still making progress at the front on a small scale. The Kremlin seems to be gambling that Trump’s interest in a diplomatic solution eventually decreases. Then the American armrest on Ukraine might end.

For Putin that can be a major reason to continue the war. In order not to kick Trump against the leg, Moscow, according to Western analysts, seems to want to negotiate seriously.

The conditions that Moscow sets for a peace file are so extreme that they actually amount to a Ukrainian surrender. For example, Russia wants Ukraine to withdraw its soldiers from all the regions that Putin has claimed, also from the areas that Russia has not conquered. The West should recognize those areas, including Crimea, as Russian territory.

No European troops

Also, after a file, no European troops may be stationed in the free part of Ukraine, and the country is no longer allowed to receive armrest from abroad. The government of Zensky should also leave and the country should not become a member of NATO. The list is much longer.

Prior to the conversation between Trump and Putin on Monday afternoon, European leaders try to exert as much influence as possible on Trump. On Sunday, the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany spoke to each other about Ukraine. The French President Emmanuel Macron then wrote that President Putin « should show that he wants peace » on Monday by unconditionally agreeing with the ceasefire of thirty days that the Americans have previously presented, and that supports Europe.

Despite the concern in Europe about the course of Trump, according to Finnish President Alexander Stubb, the US President is not standing behind Putin for a long time. Stubb, who maintains good ties with Trump, said on Sunday at a security conference in Estonia that Trump is losing his patience with Putin.

According to Stubb, there is increasing pressure on Trump from the American congress; The Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, faithful follower of Trump, is one of the driving forces behind a new American package of economic sanctions that would make the Russian economy very difficult.

To share

Mail the editors