Donald Trump is hopeful that another personal meeting could bring a breakthrough in the more than three-year-old war in Ukraine, after months of no progress in peace talks, writes The Wall Street Journal.
The US president's team is working to deploy more diplomatic tools than when he last met with Vladimir Putin in August. The new summit, this time in Budapest, also carries serious risks. The previous meeting ended without any concrete results, and many considered Moscow to have emerged victorious. Trump has so far been cautious about applying pressure, which his critics find worrying: they say it only gives Russia time to continue the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Donald Trump at the White House on Friday but received no promise that the US would deliver long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. The weapons have a range of more than 1,000 miles, which could reach Russian territory. Trump said after the meeting that he hoped the weapons would not be needed, suggesting he was seeking a diplomatic solution. But he made it clear that the option remained open.
Gaza ceasefire could give new impetus to peace talks
Even within the administration, Trump has been cautious about putting too much pressure on Putin, who has so far shown little willingness to make the concessions needed for peace. One official noted that the White House is pressuring Kiev more than Moscow. The US is now hoping that the ceasefire agreement in the Middle East, including Gaza, could also give impetus to Russian-Ukrainian peace talks.
In his second term, Trump likes to refer to himself as the “President of Peace.” He claims to have ended eight wars so far—although many dispute this.
I thought the Ukrainian one would be the easiest, since I have a good relationship with Putin. But it was disappointing
- the American president said earlier.
As frustration grows, administration sources say they are increasingly considering new tools to attack Russia. In recent months, the US has stepped up intelligence cooperation with Ukraine to allow it to attack domestic Russian targets. It has also imposed heavy tariffs on India, one of Russia's major trading partners. Meanwhile, the White House is negotiating with Congress on a new law that would give Trump the authority to impose sanctions on Russia.
Andrew Peek, Donald Trump's former national security director for Europe and Eurasia, said Russia made important concessions at the Putin-Trump meeting in Alaska, including signaling for the first time that it would not fully annex eastern Ukraine. There are also growing signs that Vladimir Putin is genuinely concerned about the prospect of Tomahawk missiles, but it remains to be seen how much compromise the parties are willing to make.
