Trump signaled to European leaders that the U.S. will leave Ukraine and Russia to hold direct talks – Financial Times

During a call yesterday with European leaders, U.S. President Donald Trump “clearly stated” that he would withdraw the U.S. from involvement in the conflict and leave Ukraine and Russia to negotiate directly.

This information reported according to Financial Times, which covered Trump’s conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in several articles.

According to the publication, Trump also gave no assurances regarding future U.S. sanctions against Russia if Putin refused to pursue peace.

As a result, European capitals now fear that “Trump may strike a deal with Putin that meets Russia’s maximalist demands and sacrifices Ukraine’s interests in exchange for ending the fighting.”

Thus, “Ukrainians and their allies in Europe felt abandoned.” Trump appears to have “washed his hands of the situation and left Ukraine at the mercy of its invader.”

“One article described the call as confirming Europe’s worst fears: the U.S. President, seduced by Putin’s appeals, is ready to pivot toward Moscow and sell out Kyiv,” writes FT.

“This conversation with Trump was a victory for Putin. He made it clear that a ceasefire won’t happen any time soon, so Russia can continue the war without fear of additional sanctions,” said Steven Pifer, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine.

A high-ranking Ukrainian official also noted that Kyiv did not understand the idea of a memorandum between Ukraine and Russia reportedly discussed by Putin and Trump. “No one knows what it is, why it exists, or why it matters,” the official said.

“At this point, Trump seems to view normalization of U.S.–Russia relations as an end in itself. Everything else is subordinate to that goal,” said Andrew Weiss, Vice President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“In the current situation, Russia appears to have the upper hand. Trump’s long-standing admiration for Putin and deep antagonism toward Zelensky make it likely he will first lose patience with the Ukrainian leader. Trump is also drawn to the idea of resuming business ties with Russia. He would prefer to sign profitable new deals in Moscow rather than approve more costly weapons shipments to Ukraine,” concluded FT columnist Gideon Rachman.