Trump-Putin name seen as victory in Russia

Judging by a few of the headlines as we speak in Russia, Moscow believes that the most recent phone dialog between Presidents Putin and Trump went properly – actually for the Kremlin.

“Putin and Trump agreed to work collectively on Ukraine decision,” concludes Izvestia.

“Document-long Putin-Trump name,” declares Komsomolskaya Pravda. The paper’s web site provides: “As issues stand Russia has scored a diplomatic victory right here.”

Why are some in Russia claiming “victory” after this two-hour cellphone name?

In all probability as a result of, by the top of it, Vladimir Putin hadn’t been pressured into making any main concessions to Ukraine or to america. Quite the opposite, he had – in impact – rejected President Trump’s thought of a right away unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

As a substitute of pressuring Moscow with the specter of even harder sanctions and penalties, to get Russia to enroll to its plan, the US administration reacted by praising the Kremlin chief.

“We had an incredible name,” Donald Trump informed Fox Information.

“I’d commend President Putin for all he did as we speak on that decision to maneuver his nation near a closing peace deal,” stated Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff.

Not solely did Moscow not conform to an unconditional ceasefire, President Putin set his personal pre-conditions for peace.

They embody an finish to Western army help to Kyiv and intelligence sharing with the Ukrainians, in addition to a halt to mobilisation in Ukraine. Such situations are extensively considered as a approach of securing Ukraine’s capitulation.

It is laborious to see Kyiv agreeing to any of that.

However may the Trump administration finally be persuaded, by Moscow, that such situations are acceptable? And if that’s the case, would Washington power Ukraine to simply accept them?

A lot might depend upon whether or not the Kremlin can persuade President Trump he has extra to achieve from creating good ties with Moscow than by defending Ukraine’s nook.

As if to press house the purpose, of their conversations with the Individuals, Russian officers are already dangling varied financial and monetary carrots and speaking about how mutually helpful the Russia-US relationship may very well be if the 2 international locations can re-energise bilateral relations and get to work on joint tasks.

Vladimir Putin lately raised the prospect of US-Russian cooperation in aluminium manufacturing and uncommon minerals mining.

The message seems to be getting by way of.

“We might prefer to have extra commerce with Russia,” stated Donald Trump on Tuesday in his interview with Fox Information.

“They’ve some very priceless issues for us, together with uncommon earth. They’ve an enormous chunk of actual property, the most important on this planet. They’ve issues that we may use.”

Moscow might be hoping – presumably calculating – that Donald Trump will prioritise getting a bit of that “Russian actual property” over securing a suitable deal for Ukraine to finish the warfare.

It is a level echoed as we speak by the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper:

“Moscow’s logic is to make financial relations with America so worthwhile that severing them can be too expensive for america.”

After Ukraine had agreed to an unconditional ceasefire every week in the past, the US administration publicly introduced that “the ball is in [Russia’s] courtroom”.

Now that Vladimir Putin has rejected the deal and set his personal situations, the Kremlin chief has hit it again into America’s “courtroom”.

However Russia and America will proceed their discussions – each on Ukraine and on US-Russian ties.

And it is these negotiations that are more likely to affect Donald Trump’s subsequent transfer.