Has the massive Russian drone and missile assault on Ukraine at the weekend finally opened the eyes of Donald Trump to the true intentions of Vladimir Putin? “He has gone absolutely crazy”, the US president said in response.
Mr Putin may be a calculating, ruthless autocrat but he is not crazy. He knows what he is doing, which is exploiting the American leader’s desperation to secure his legacy by landing a peace deal. He cannot understand why the Russian president will not play along given the carrots dangled in front of him.
He has been effectively promised Russia’s readmission into the comity of civilised nations, the dropping of sanctions and the re-opening of trade links. To Mr Trump’s mind this is a good deal and one that he finds hard to believe is being spurned.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him,” said a baffled Mr Trump.
Yet he persists in treating both Russia and Ukraine as though they are equally culpable, reserving some of his sharpest criticism for Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader is making the pursuit of peace difficult, he said, and “doing his country no favours by talking the way he does”. This even though Zelensky has agreed to Washington’s call for a 30-day ceasefire, unlike the Kremlin.
Moscow’s reaction to Mr Trump’s attack on Putin was uncharacteristically muted in a deliberate bid to avoid antagonising the US president. A Kremlin spokesman thanked America for its efforts to achieve peace and blamed Mr Trump’s outburst on an “emotional overload”.
When will Mr Trump realise he is being played for a fool by the Russian leader, who has no intention of agreeing a settlement to the conflict other than on terms overwhelmingly favourable to Moscow? There is no Nobel Peace Prize awaiting Mr Trump at the end of this process.
Meanwhile in Washington, a bipartisan “supermajority” of 81 has been achieved in the Senate behind legislation that will impose draconian sanctions on Russia if it continues to prevaricate.
It also imposes 500pc tariffs on countries dealing with Russia, including supplying weapons or buying cheap oil. Since they include China and India the consequences for global trade would be immense.
The senators behind the measure said “it is increasingly clear to us that Putin is playing games”. The big question now is whether it is also finally clear to Mr Trump.
Has the massive Russian drone and missile assault on Ukraine at the weekend finally opened the eyes of Donald Trump to the true intentions of Vladimir Putin? “He has gone absolutely crazy”, the US president said in response.
Mr Putin may be a calculating, ruthless autocrat but he is not crazy. He knows what he is doing, which is exploiting the American leader’s desperation to secure his legacy by landing a peace deal. He cannot understand why the Russian president will not play along given the carrots dangled in front of him.
He has been effectively promised Russia’s readmission into the comity of civilised nations, the dropping of sanctions and the re-opening of trade links. To Mr Trump’s mind this is a good deal and one that he finds hard to believe is being spurned.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him,” said a baffled Mr Trump.
Yet he persists in treating both Russia and Ukraine as though they are equally culpable, reserving some of his sharpest criticism for Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader is making the pursuit of peace difficult, he said, and “doing his country no favours by talking the way he does”. This even though Zelensky has agreed to Washington’s call for a 30-day ceasefire, unlike the Kremlin.
Moscow’s reaction to Mr Trump’s attack on Putin was uncharacteristically muted in a deliberate bid to avoid antagonising the US president. A Kremlin spokesman thanked America for its efforts to achieve peace and blamed Mr Trump’s outburst on an “emotional overload”.
When will Mr Trump realise he is being played for a fool by the Russian leader, who has no intention of agreeing a settlement to the conflict other than on terms overwhelmingly favourable to Moscow? There is no Nobel Peace Prize awaiting Mr Trump at the end of this process.
Meanwhile in Washington, a bipartisan “supermajority” of 81 has been achieved in the Senate behind legislation that will impose draconian sanctions on Russia if it continues to prevaricate.
It also imposes 500pc tariffs on countries dealing with Russia, including supplying weapons or buying cheap oil. Since they include China and India the consequences for global trade would be immense.
The senators behind the measure said “it is increasingly clear to us that Putin is playing games”. The big question now is whether it is also finally clear to Mr Trump.