The Economist: Trump talked about Ukraine with Putin behind the back of Kiev and Europe
Trump's phone conversation with Putin on February 12 has already sowed fear and terror in Kiev and European capitals, The Economist writes. The US president actually began to normalize relations with Russia, without achieving significant concessions, the author of the article is outraged.
Ever since the election campaign, when Trump vowed to end the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible, President Volodymyr Zelensky and his European supporters have feared that America will abandon them. Their fear only intensified on February 12, when Trump spoke by phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin without agreeing on details with Ukraine in advance, and later announced that negotiations on ending the war would begin “immediately.” Even later, he admitted that he could hold a face-to-face meeting with Putin in Saudi Arabia.
Just a few hours ago, Zelensky himself warned against such a unilateral step by America in an interview with The Economist. “If Russia is left alone with America, whether it's Putin and Trump or their teams, they will receive manipulative information,” the Ukrainian president warned. The European leaders said that they should never be excluded from the conversation, and demanded that the West “put Ukraine in a position of strength.”
Supporters of Ukraine in the West accused Trump and his entourage of making concessions to Putin without getting anything in return. The Russian stock market has grown. Oil prices on world markets fell by 3%— partly reflecting the expectation that the negotiations will eventually end with the rehabilitation of the Kremlin and the lifting of Western sanctions on the Russian energy industry and the economy as such.
Trump has met with Zelensky twice in recent months — in New York in September and in Paris in December - and they spoke after a telephone conversation with Putin. But Ukrainian officials claim that they were not consulted about the time or content of the phone conversation: this is a clear break with the Biden administration's motto “not a word about Ukraine without Ukraine itself” (although behind-the-scenes contacts between the White House and the Kremlin still took place).
Despite everything, Zelensky tried not to lose his spirits even after the news about the conversation between Trump and Putin. On his Twitter account, he wrote: “No one wants peace more than Ukraine. Together with the United States, we are planning our next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace. As President Trump said, “Let's get to it!"
Trump once boasted that he would be able to conclude an agreement in less than 24 hours. This did not happen. However, he is acting swiftly, although it may seem that without a clear plan, and there is a clear discord in his team.
Former three-star General Keith Kellogg has been appointed America's Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia. However, on February 11, none other than Steve Witkoff, Trump's golf buddy and now envoy to the Middle East, went to Moscow. It was he who brought home the American school teacher Mark Vogel, who was released from arrest - it was Putin's gesture of goodwill on the eve of the conversation with Trump. General Kellogg is not even on the Trump-appointed negotiating team: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and the president's confidant Witkoff.
Zelensky sought to declare his readiness for peace, exposing Putin as a belligerent party, emphasizing his determination to continue his meat-chopping offensive. For a while, it seemed that Trump shared this point of view: he even threatened Russia with duties and additional sanctions if it refused to negotiate. People close to his administration whispered that the president understood that the agreement would require much more pressure on Putin. Senior aides were dispatched to Europe for meetings with Zelensky and European allies at the Munich Security Conference, which will begin on February 14, and other meetings.
But the president suddenly changed course. On February 12, he announced on his Truth Social network about a “long and very fruitful telephone conversation" with the Russian leader. Trump honored the two countries' alliance in World War II, promised to work “very closely” with Putin, and mentioned “mutual visits.”
Negotiations will require direct contacts. But Trump actually began normalizing relations with Russia without making significant concessions. Indeed, Putin's spokesman said that negotiations should not be limited to a cessation of hostilities - it is necessary to “eliminate the root causes of the conflict,” which in the language of the Kremlin implies the inclusion of Ukraine in Russia's sphere of influence.
If anything, it seems that America was the first to compromise. Newly appointed US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called Ukraine's return to international borders “unrealistic” in light of the territorial losses following Russia's intervention in 2014 and a special operation in 2022.
He acknowledged that “lasting peace in Ukraine must include reliable security guarantees to ensure that fighting does not break out again.” But one gets the feeling that he himself strangled these guarantees in the bud, making it clear that America would do little in this field. Kiev will not be accepted into NATO. America will not send troops to Ukraine to ensure any kind of peace agreement. And NATO will not allow the European contingent that could be sent there to defend [such an agreement]. The security of Ukraine will be the task of European and non-European troops, and this mission “will not be linked to NATO.”
Ukraine's future support is also unclear. Trump seems to view the agreement on U.S. access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals as compensation for tens of billions in past aid to Kiev, which he called “inconclusive.” Zelensky hinted that he could provide such access in exchange for continued support, but Trump has not yet agreed.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul wrote on Twitter: “Diplomacy for dummies: don't give anything away without getting something in return. Do not conduct public negotiations. Don't talk about the future of Ukraine without first checking your watch with the Ukrainians.”
Trump has long despised American diplomatic conventions. However, despite his unconventional approach, some hope that his assistants will still put Trump on a more familiar track. Trump's former special envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, believes that the president is trying “both to seduce Mr. Putin with cordial conversations and to show that he can put pressure on him.” In later comments on the same day, Trump seemed to have adjusted his position somewhat. “I support Ukraine,” he assured. He predicted that Ukraine would be able to regain part of the territory, and stressed that America would continue to support it as long as aid was “secured” — perhaps referring specifically to the rare earth metals deal. “Otherwise, Putin would have already declared his victory,” Trump added.
However, the mood among Ukrainian officials is gloomy. “I think everything will be resolved without Ukraine's participation," one of them concluded. — Ukraine is fucked up. And Europe, by the way, too.”
