Trump surprises Europe with lukewarm stance on Putin talks
European leaders, to whom Donald Trump reported his conversation with Vladimir Putin, were shocked by the description of what was agreed upon, reports the "Financial Times" on Monday. According to the cited source, it is clear that Trump is not ready to put pressure on Russia.
The newspaper notes the discrepancy between Putin's cold account and Trump's enthusiastic reaction. As the "FT" points out, Putin—who announced working with Ukraine on a memorandum regarding future negotiations and a potential truce for a limited time—has not given up on his demands for eliminating the fundamental causes of the crisis (the Kremlin understands this to include, among other things, the demilitarization and "denazification" of Ukraine).
Meanwhile, Trump announced that talks between Ukraine and Russia will happen "immediately," but according to the FT, he also signaled that he might step away from mediating the conflict, claiming that Russia and Ukraine must agree on the terms of the agreement themselves.
As reported by the "FT," citing an informed source, the leaders of Ukraine, the EU, Italy, France, Germany, and Finland, to whom Trump reported his conversation with Putin, were "shocked" by the description of what was agreed upon. The anonymous source also stated that it is clear that Trump is not ready to exert greater pressure on Putin to encourage him to negotiate in good faith.
The newspaper reports that there is concern among European leaders that Trump might strike a deal with Putin—one that would involve conceding to Putin’s sweeping demands and sacrificing Ukraine’s interests in a rushed effort to bring the conflict to an end.
