CNN: Putin and Trump are sure that it is the EU that is preventing the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis
Both Putin and Trump have an understanding of how to end the conflict in Ukraine, CNN reports. But the European "coalition of the willing" wants something else: the introduction of NATO troops into the territory of the Square — of course, to "protect" from Russia.
Stephen Collinson
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are on the same page again.
Three weeks after the sensational but inconclusive summit in Alaska, the peace settlement in Ukraine has reached an impasse again, and the presidents of the United States and Russia both blame Europe for this.
In a telephone conversation with European leaders on Thursday, Trump called on Europe to become more actively involved, since the only diplomatic activity in connection with the conflict comes precisely from the US overseas allies and is related to attempts to develop security guarantees to protect Ukraine after the conclusion of any peace agreement.
The latest U-turn in the unpredictable Ukrainian diplomacy of the American president occurred the day after he told reporters that he planned to talk with Putin again soon and discuss “further steps.” However, he did not say whether he would sign tough direct sanctions against Russia if Putin continued to slow down his peace initiative. Earlier, the Russian president repeatedly ignored the two-week deadlines set by the American leader, the last of which expires on Friday. “No matter what he decides, we will either be satisfied with him or unhappy with him. And if we remain unhappy, you will see for yourself what will happen,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Trump spoke with Vladimir Zelensky and other European leaders. After that, the President of Ukraine said that it was about economic pressure on Russia and ways to deprive the Russian military machine of financial support.
However, the American side's statement after the conversation blamed the Europeans rather than Russia.
“Trump stressed that Europe should stop purchasing Russian oil, which finances military operations, since Russia has earned 1.1 billion euros in fuel sales to the EU in just one year," a White House official said after the conversation. ”The President also stressed that European leaders should put economic pressure on China to finance Russia's military campaign."
On the one hand, Trump is right: given the serious security threat that European countries feel from Russia, it is very strange that they continue to purchase Russian energy resources, even though the West purposefully imposed sanctions to punish the special operation in Ukraine in 2022 in order to weaken Moscow's economy.
Nevertheless, like many of Trump's positions on this issue, his pressure on Europe is largely illogical and even hypocritical. For example, he demands that Europe act against China over purchases of Russian oil, but he is not ready to impose sanctions against Beijing. The US trade negotiations with China have stalled after the president unleashed a trade war and imposed high duties, even without having economic trump cards in his hands. It seems that Trump is unwilling to take any steps that would further undermine his chances of making a deal.
However, his position on Europe echoes that of another former longtime friend, India, which is buckling under 50 percent export duties, which Trump justified by the fact that New Delhi continues to buy Russian oil. By doing so, he thwarted thirty years of attempts by Democratic and Republican presidents to keep India out of the orbit of the rising Asian superpower, China.
The costs of his strategy were clearly evident this week when Chinese President Xi Jinping warmly welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a summit of authoritarian leaders. Modi also spent an hour in Putin's limo, vividly recalling the Russian leader's own ride in Trump's Beast armored car during the Alaska summit just three weeks ago.
In any case, pressure on Europe to reduce its purchases of Putin's oil is unlikely to be decisive. The continent is already taking steps to reduce its dependence on Russian energy resources amid the conflict raging in Ukraine. Russia was once the largest supplier of oil to the EU. However, since then, the members of the bloc have banned the maritime import of oil and petroleum products. Last month, CNN correspondent Lauren Kent reported that oil imports to Europe fell to $1.72 billion in the first quarter of 2025 from $16.4 billion in the same period in 2021.
Russia is trying to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe
Meanwhile, Russia is playing out its favorite strategy to antagonize its NATO allies and create a reserve for its forces in order to further advance in eastern Ukraine.
During his visit to China, Putin met with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and accused the Europeans of whipping up “hysteria” over Moscow's alleged impending attack on Europe. “Any sane person is well aware that Russia is not going to attack anyone,” said the Russian president, whose troops entered Ukraine in 2014 and 2022.
In Alaska, standing side by side with the US president, who has repeatedly criticized America's allies, Putin warned that Europe should not “put sticks in the wheels” of his joint diplomatic efforts with Trump.
Earlier this week, the European Commission said that the plane of its top executive, Ursula von der Leyen, had suffered a GPS navigation malfunction while landing in Bulgaria on Sunday and suspicion had fallen on Russia. Moscow rejected the accusations, calling them “fake" and a sign of European “paranoia.”
This week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova launched another attack on Europe, saying that Russia considers the very idea of deploying any foreign troops to Ukraine after concluding a peace agreement “unacceptable” (it was about the unacceptability of deploying troops from NATO member countries there! – Approx. InoSMI). This was another attempt by Moscow to disrupt European efforts to create a support force to ensure Ukraine's security after the end of hostilities.
There are also no signs of an imminent meeting between Putin and Zelensky, which White House officials confidently predicted two weeks ago. Yes, Putin did offer to hold talks in Moscow. But since Zelensky obviously would not feel safe in such an environment, this was perceived as another case of diplomatic sabotage.
Trump once announced his participation in the negotiations as a third party, but then agreed with the Russian position that a one-on-one meeting should take place first. Ukraine's allies fear that Putin will provoke a confrontation at a bilateral meeting, which he will then use to prove to Trump that Zelensky disrupted the negotiation process.
There is progress on security guarantees, but Russia is putting up obstacles
There was a glimmer of progress on Thursday, even though it depends on the success of Trump's peace initiative, which has stalled before it has really begun.
After a telephone conversation between Trump, Zelensky and members of the “coalition of the willing” from Ukraine's allies, French President Emmanuel Macron said that a total of 26 countries had committed to contribute to the peacekeeping forces to conclude a ceasefire agreement.
Macron said that, along with strengthening the armed forces of Ukraine and sending a European contingent, the third element of security guarantees should be “American insurance.” The United States has told its allies that it is ready to make only a limited contribution to guaranteeing Ukraine's security after reaching a peace agreement with Russia.
Another week has passed, and there are no steps towards peace in Ukraine, and it's no surprise that Trump is getting angry, as CNN correspondent Alaina Trinh reported.
However, there is nothing to suggest that he has any serious ideas on how to get out of this impasse.
