Why has Trump become stuck on peace in Ukraine?
While the central objective of the negotiations is still far from being achieved, the collateral damage of Washington's rapprochement with Moscow has been felt in the Old Continent.
WashingtonThe 24 hours Donald Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine have stretched into days and weeks, reaching the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion. The two adjectives that best describe the president's diplomacy right now are performative and staticSpecial envoy Steve Witkoff boarding planes to Moscow; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveling to Washington to be shouted at by Trump on camera; and the red carpet rolled out in Anchorage to welcome Vladimir Putin. These gestures fall far short of the central objective—ending the conflict—but have had significant collateral damage on the European continent: the number The number of Ukrainian deaths and Russian attacks has grown Under Trump's negotiations, Europe has found itself virtually alone in the face of the Russian threat. And Putin watches from the comfort of believing that time is on his side.
"Putin believes that right now time is on his side. He believes he is still making some progress on the battlefield and that he continues to have a very maximalist approach with the will to weaken Ukraine as much as possible. And at the moment he feels he can achieve a weakening of Ukraine through negotiation," explains Martin from American University. Martin points out that the Trump administration's efforts to try to convince the Kremlin to end the war have had almost negligible impact, and Ukrainians and Europeans are the ones suffering the most from Washington's new diplomacy.
Martin emphasizes that it has been a "dramatic" year for Europe as it has seen Washington blow up many of the bridges of the old partnership and Moscow gain strength from the debacle. Russian drone flights in Polish airspace are a symptom that the Kremlin is already well advanced in its war-like stance toward Europeans. "You could say that Russia is already in a state almost at war with Europe. I mean, perhaps not yet militarily, but it could become so in the future. But when we talk about drones, when we talk about disinformation campaigns, which are quite aggressive in different parts of Europe, there is a solid basis for defining psychological warfare as taking place, and everything is also psychological warfare. I know that not all Europeans agree with this idea, but there are quite a few factors that support it," the expert points out.
The economic lure
Garret believes that, in the face-to-face confrontation between Trump and Putin, it is the Russian who knows how to read the American. "He is extraordinarily skilled, thanks to his KGB training and also to having been in power for 25 years. He is very good at understanding what motivates people and what their weaknesses are. And, in Trump's case, I think it has probably been easier for him to understand what Trump connects with or what he reacts to." This is especially evident in how Moscow is playing the economic card, the professor points out: "The Russians have been putting forward the idea of economic opportunity, which I think resonates with Trump and the people around him. They have been playing this card that if they improve relations with Russia, there is money to be made and there are these big economic projects that could be carried out."
One of the phrases Trump has quoted most frequently during the negotiations has been, precisely, the reactivation of trade ties with Russia. An idea that has often been overshadowed by all the other bellicose and inflammatory statements from the president. In his appearance after meeting with Putin in Anchorage, the US president said: "Of course, cooperation in investment and business between the US and Russia has enormous potential. Russia and the US can offer each other a great deal in trade, digital technology, high technology, and space exploration. We see that Arctic cooperation is also very international."
Last spring, Russia sent its first envoy to Washington, and it wasn't a Kremlin diplomat, but a businessman.Kirill Dmitriev, director of a Russian investment fund. Dmitriev met withSpecial correspondent Steve Witkoffand other men from the Trump administration. Beyond discussing the ceasefire negotiations, Dmitriev also spoke about money. The Russian envoy said they had discussed the production of critical minerals, cooperation in the Arctic, and even manned flights to Mars. According to Russian news agencies, Dmitriev said that American companies are interested in Russia and "want to fill the gaps left by European companies that have departed."
