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Trump talks tough with Putin on ending Ukraine war

President Trump has stepped up his attacks on Russian President Vladimir Putin in his early days in office, trying to pressure the Russian leader to come to the table to negotiate a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

More than 48 hours after returning to the White House, President Trump said that Putin was “destroying our homeland” in the nearly three-year war with Kiev, and that unless a deal is reached quickly, Russia and its threatened to increase sanctions against those involved.

He justified his threats with flattery, saying he loves the Russian people and “has always had very good relations with President Putin.”

“I have no intention of hurting Russia,” President Trump posted on his social media site TruthSocial on Wednesday. “I'm going to do a big favor to Russia and President Putin, whose economy is in the doldrums. Settle it now and stop this stupid war! It's only going to get worse.”

These posts are the opening salvo in President Trump's efforts to show that his “peace through strength” policy can end the largest ground war in Europe in nearly a century.

the president saw some early diplomatic success In the Middle East. He dispatched Steve Witkoff, his special envoy for the Middle East, to press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas in the final weeks of the Biden administration.

But the president said resolving Russia's war in Ukraine is a more difficult task than in the Middle East.

Former President Biden's team did much of the heavy lifting in the year-long negotiations for a final cease-fire document between Israel and Hamas. President Trump stepped in, using the political capital he had amassed during his first term with Israel and regional partners.

But Russia's war in Ukraine is a different story.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 represents a shocking violation of the post-World War II order, with Russia seeking to use force to change the borders of a sovereign state.

Ukraine succeeded in repelling Russian forces besieging Kiev and preserving its state for the first few days, but failed to dislodge Russia from about 20 percent of Ukraine's territory in the east of the country. It lies above the administrative regions of Luhansk, Donetsk and Crimea, territories that Russia invaded and annexed in 2014.

Three years into the war, Ukraine's military is struggling to replenish its forces and its population suffers from near-daily attacks on civilian areas and energy infrastructure that threaten to freeze the country through the winter. And the Russian military is said to be carrying out drone attacks targeting civilians in frontline cities.

Public opinion in Ukraine is increasingly open To negotiate to end the war as soon as possible. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also said he was optimistic that President Trump's decisiveness could change the dynamics of the war.

“He can be decisive in this war. He can stop Putin, or, to be fairer, help us stop Putin. We can,” Zelenskiy said.

President Trump said in remarks from the Oval Office on Monday that he believed Zelenskyy wanted a deal.

“I don't know if President Putin will do it, maybe he won't, I don't know. He should make a deal,” Trump said.

But Russia and Ukraine are not the only participants. The United Nations is firmly on both sides of the conflict, with many countries straddling the line.

Sam Green, director of democratic resilience at the Center for European Policy Analysis, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said President Trump will need to unite with Europe if he wants to exert influence against Russia. said.

That could become difficult if he follows through on his promise to impose high tariffs on the continent.

“I think the reality is that President Trump doesn't have much influence over either party to this conflict, and the United States as a whole doesn't have it,” Greene said.

“It's not beyond the realm of possibility that Mr. Trump, Mr. Walz, Mr. Rubio, and other key players in terms of foreign policy sit down and start planning and prioritizing all of their overlapping and intertwined interests,” he said. added. He mentioned National Security Adviser Mike Walz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“We're not there yet. Until we get there, I think it's foolish for the Russians to feel like they're under a lot of pressure from Washington.”

In a speech at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, Zelenskiy accused Europe of failing to harness its power.

“Will President Trump listen to Europe or will he negotiate with Russia and China without Europe?” he asked with blunt warning. “Europe needs to learn how to protect itself well so that the world cannot ignore it.”

President Putin may be scarred by war, but he is not devastated. Russian leaders have used domestic military production to shore up the economy, targeting countries ranging from world powers like China and India to international pariahs like Iran and North Korea to avoid international sanctions. have relied on the network.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is Putin's most important ally in the war, and the two countries declared an “unlimited partnership” in February 2022, just before Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, and a “new era” of partnership in May. declared. Both Putin and Xi see the United States and democracies as threats to the survival of their dictatorships.

During a phone call between Putin and Xi on Monday, the two countries discussed deepening ties, while Putin said he was open to dialogue with the United States regarding Ukraine.

Mr. Green said Putin would likely sell the deal to the Russian people, but it would still be difficult for him to agree to a halt to the war.

“Putin will be able to find a way to fly the flag of mission accomplished even if he cannot control all of Ukraine or all of the territory claimed by the Kremlin. “It's about turning away from conflict and confrontation with countries,” Green said.

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