Soon Putin Will Have Successfully Alienated Trump
Published in Der Standard
(Austria) on 20 May 2025
by Florian Niederndorfer (link to original)
If the U.S. withdraws completely from the Ukraine negotiations, Russia will move a big step closer to its actual war goal.
Did Donald Trump already say goodbye, for the time being, to Vladimir Putin on the subject of Ukraine before he hung up the White House phone Monday? It's possible, since there are many indications to suggest that soon the Russian leader will have successfully alienated the U.S. president.
Vice President JD Vance had already given the Kremlin the ideal pretext before the phone call: Trump will pull away from Ukraine negotiations if Russia doesn't relent soon. And Putin wouldn't be Putin if he compromised now, given this prospect. The less he gives in, the more brutal his attacks on Ukraine will be, and the sooner Trump gives up — jackpot for Putin.
Closer to His Goal
After all, Putin understands the "real reasons for the war” that must be eliminated before a cease-fire. To be precise: Ukraine's ties to the West, and especially U.S. support for Kyiv. If America withdraws, then the Kremlin moves much closer to its goal.
After the phone call, Trump indicated that could soon be the case. Days earlier, he had boasted that peace in Ukraine could happen only if he himself handled it; but now he suggests that Russia and Ukraine should negotiate between themselves — and the mediator should be Pope Leo XIV instead of himself. Trump, who would have loved to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, is withdrawing from the affair.
Did Donald Trump already say goodbye, for the time being, to Vladimir Putin on the subject of Ukraine before he hung up the White House phone Monday? It's possible, since there are many indications to suggest that soon the Russian leader will have successfully alienated the U.S. president.
Vice President JD Vance had already given the Kremlin the ideal pretext before the phone call: Trump will pull away from Ukraine negotiations if Russia doesn't relent soon. And Putin wouldn't be Putin if he compromised now, given this prospect. The less he gives in, the more brutal his attacks on Ukraine will be, and the sooner Trump gives up — jackpot for Putin.
Closer to His Goal
After all, Putin understands the "real reasons for the war” that must be eliminated before a cease-fire. To be precise: Ukraine's ties to the West, and especially U.S. support for Kyiv. If America withdraws, then the Kremlin moves much closer to its goal.
After the phone call, Trump indicated that could soon be the case. Days earlier, he had boasted that peace in Ukraine could happen only if he himself handled it; but now he suggests that Russia and Ukraine should negotiate between themselves — and the mediator should be Pope Leo XIV instead of himself. Trump, who would have loved to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, is withdrawing from the affair.
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