For a decade, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been the Paria of the West after annexing for the first time the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine and then launching a large -scale invasion of the country. Now, President Donald Trump has given Putin a great impulse, and possibly re -entering the global stage, offering much of what he has been asking for in Ukraine.
Although Trump has not hidden that he plans a radical deviation of the goal of an ostensible Ukrainian victory followed by the then president Joe Biden, his comments on Wednesday, including that Russia “fought for that land and lost many soldiers”- Surprised observers, and apparently governments, throughout Europe.
“Trump has given Ukraine to Putin,” wrote former Estonoma Toomas Hendrik Ilves in X. While Michael McFaul, former United States ambassador to Russia, who is currently at the Munich Security Conference, asked why The Trump administration was “giving gifts from Putin, Ukrainian land. And there is no NATO membership for Ukraine, even before negotiations begin.”
He added: “I have negotiated with the Russians. You never give them anything for free. “
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, put a brave face in his response, as many observers say he has few options to do when it comes to Washington, the greatest benefactor of Ukraine, saying that he also had “very substantive negotiations” with Trump. He added that he believed that “the American force is enough to press Russia and Putin alone, along with us, along with all our partners.”
But do not make mistakes, Trump’s comments will be very received in kyiv, according to Orysia Lutsevych, director of the group of experts of Chatham House in London.
The comments “show the weakness of the United States, since it attends to Putin’s wishes without Russia having to commit or admit anything,” News told NBC. “Putin’s Bluff that is ‘winning’ seems to be working with Trump.”
While Russia has achieved slow on the battlefield in the last year, it still has approximately 20% of the Ukrainian land that it did 12 months ago. In addition, Ukrainian forces still have a splinter of Russian territory.
European powers are also generally measured in their statements to the White House. But they expressed a clear anxiety that Trump could be negotiating with Putin as he left them so much to the Zelenskyy.
“Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiation,” said a joint statement from France, Germany, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom. He did not mention Trump by name, but his meaning was unequivocal. “We hope to discuss the way ahead with our American allies.”
When asked about the criticism of Trump’s Ukrain establishment of foreign policy “.
The president was “quickly reversing his terrible errors, and the United States is once again the dominant force for peace and stability,” he said. He wrote that the “Diplomacy of the first United States of Trump is paying real dividends by Americans and for people who love peace worldwide”
Although the American allies knew that a new Stark era was reaching Trump, the speed and frankness of their words and actions this week have even surprised the experienced observers of the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump received a call with Putin, before making a call to the historic Ally Kyiv of Washington, in which he seemed to offer many of Kremlin’s demands with little in return.
“We had a great decision,” Trump said in the Oval office. He said he was “good” with Ukraine that he did not receive the NATO membership and that it was “unlikely” to recover the territory by Russia.
“I think President Putin wants peace and President Zelenskyy wants peace, and I want peace,” he said. “I just want to see people stop being murdered.”
Trump also said that he and Putin can meet in Saudi Arabia on an un specified date.
On Tuesday, the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, said that US troops would not be part of any peace maintenance mission sent to Ukraine, telling Europe that it is expected that resources are expected to face the resources.
Biden and other presidents have falsified the issue of Ukraine NATO membership, knowing that it would inflame already hostile relations with Moscow. But Trump took him from the table directly.
“Maybe Ukraine will have to give up the territory. Maybe Ukraine will not join NATO now. Perhaps American soldiers will not be part of a peace maintenance mission, ”McFaul wrote. “But all these concessions to Putin should be negotiated in exchange for Russian concessions advanced by Ukraine and American.”
