As today’s call approached, Donald Trump emphasized his dialogue with Vladimir Putin of Russia.
However, the outcomes seem to offer little to celebrate.
The Russian president provided just enough assurance for the US leader to declare some progress toward peace in Ukraine, while avoiding any perception of being outmaneuvered by the Kremlin.
Trump can highlight Putin’s commitment to suspend attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for a month. Should that come to fruition, it would bring some relief to the civilian population.
Nonetheless, this falls far short of the complete and unconditional ceasefire the US sought from Russia.
The “very horrible war” that Trump claims he can end continues unabated.
Meanwhile, Putin, a leader wanted as a suspected war criminal by the ICC, is being reintegrated into the upper echelons of global diplomacy.
Reports from Russian state media indicate that the phone call between the two presidents lasted over two hours, with the Kremlin’s account spanning about 500 words.
The readout presents the discussion as amicable, even mentioning their chat about ice hockey—details sure to please an audience back in Russia.
After three years of being seen as a pariah and years of strained relations before that, Russia is once again engaging directly with a US administration willing to cooperate.
The two leaders are even touching upon topics like Middle East peace and “global security.”
The Kremlin must find this shift hard to believe.
Prior to the call, some speculated whether Donald Trump would apply pressure on Russia, particularly since it had been evidently stalling on the ceasefire for over a week.
However, there’s no indication of a reprimand for Putin akin to the one Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received in the Oval Office two weeks ago.
Both nations’ accounts imply that no substantial changes have occurred.
Russia maintains its desire for peace, yet rather than grounding its drones and silencing its firearms, it is negotiating the terms for monitoring a ceasefire that still doesn’t exist.
Simultaneously, it is imposing additional conditions that could weaken Kyiv’s resistance capabilities.
One condition is the cessation of the flow of arms and intelligence to Ukraine from its allies.
For Ukrainians, the sole glimmer of hope is that the US has yet to agree to any of these stipulations.
They can also use the call as further evidence that Russia is not interested in halting its invasion.
However, all this dialogue will provide minimal respite from their ongoing suffering.
This must also be disappointing for US diplomatic efforts.
Yet for the Kremlin, it likely feels like a positive day, one that seemed unimaginable before Trump regained the White House.
