Last year, Donald Trump promised he would end the Ukraine War in “24 hours”.
Last week, he said that it would not be resolved until he and Russian President Vladimir Putin could “get together” and hash it out in person.
On Monday, the ground shifted again.
After a two-hour phone call with Putin, he said that the conditions of a peace deal could only be negotiated between Russia and Ukraine – and maybe with the help of the Pope.
Still, the US president has not lost his sense of optimism about the prospect for peace, posting on social media that the combatants would “immediately start” negotiations for a ceasefire and an end to the war.
That sentiment was somewhat at odds with the Russian view. Putin only said that his country is ready to work with Ukraine to craft a “memorandum on a possible future peace agreement”.
Talks about memorandums and a “possible future” of peace hardly seems the kind of solid ground on which lasting deals can be quickly built.
Bloomberg via Getty Images US President Donald Trump walks out of the Oval Office for a signing ceremony for the Take It Down Act, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington DC on May 19. He wears a blue suit and tie and appears to be saying something. Bloomberg via Getty Images
Putin again emphasised that any resolution would have to address the “root causes” of the war – which Russia has claimed in the past to be Ukraine’s desire for closer ties to Europe.
On Truth Social after the call, Trump said that Russia and Ukraine will “immediately start negotiations” toward a ceasefire, adding that “the conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties”.
But there is a possibility that Trump’s latest take on the war in Ukraine could be a sign that the US will ultimately abandon the negotiating table.
Later on Monday, Trump said he would not step away from brokering talks between the two countries, but acknowledged that he had a “red line in his head”.
“Big egos involved, but I think something’s going to happen,” he said. “And if it doesn’t, I’ll just back away and they’ll have to keep going.”
Such a move, however, comes with its own set of questions – and risks.
Credit: DAILYSUN