Trump believes Ukraine will have to accept deal on Moscow’s terms to achieve peace with Russia – Politico
US leader Donald Trump still refuses to put pressure on Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, remaining convinced that he has more leverage over Ukraine and European allies.
Politico reported this, citing sources, Censor.NET informs.
According to a White House official, Trump continues to express confidence in conversations with allies that talks on ending the war in Ukraine are still on the right track.
However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the negotiations, which the US president had publicly predicted could conclude with a trilateral summit within a week, are turning into a "grueling slog," another White House official said.
Trump and his national security team "continue to engage with Russian and Ukrainian officials regarding a bilateral meeting," a White House official noted.
Asked about the Kremlin’s apparent caution, the representative gave an evasive answer, saying that "further public discussion of these matters is not in the national interest."
"He [Trump] has long believed that Russia has the upper hand in the war itself and must be coaxed into peace talks. Ukraine, on the other hand, relies heavily on the U.S. for weapons and intelligence. So there are more pressure points to get them to accept a deal," a former US administration official told Politico.
Politico also wrote that NATO allies saw a glimmer of hope on Monday in Trump’s statement that the United States was ready to play a role in supporting postwar security guarantees for Ukraine.
But Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s top policy official, later told a small group of European defense ministers that any US involvement would be "minimal."
"There is some reason for optimism. But there are also concerns that he still doesn’t grasp how complex this is, and that if things don’t come together as quickly as he wants, he’ll simply get bored and lose interest," added a senior official from a European country.
