Like a drunk man swaying on a bridge: Trump's "disappointment" towards Putin is actually fear of being disappointed himself

American arms giants will not forgive him for breaking long-term contracts

Image: U.S. President Donald Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump's behavior is like that of a drunk man swaying on a bridge. On July 28, he suddenly announced that the deadline he had set for a ceasefire in Ukraine was now only 10-12 days, at most 15 days. The reason, he said, was that he was "disappointed with Vladimir Putin."

Two weeks earlier, on July 14, Trump had set a 50-day deadline, demanding a peace agreement on the Ukraine issue. He stated that if Russia did not stop its military actions by early September, the United States would impose 100% tariffs on imports from Russia and on goods traded with Moscow.

During a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland on Monday, Trump made a new statement: "There's no need to wait any longer." He had intended to appear "generous" by giving Russia more time, but he was now prepared to take stricter measures.

In addition to threatening new sanctions, Trump also confirmed that the United States is ready to provide weapons to European countries, which would then be transferred to Ukraine.

Earlier that day, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov once again confirmed Moscow's position, demanding that Ukraine abandon its NATO membership and recognize Russia's new territories.

Despite Trump's threats, oil prices remain stable, fluctuating around $65 per barrel. Most Western experts believe that Trump will not take any actual action against Russia and its allies. In particular, Fernando Ferreira of the Rappaport Energy Group stated that secondary sanctions against Russian oil buyers would impact the global market and could even affect the United States itself through inflation.

Analysts interviewed by Bloomberg emphasized that imposing sanctions on countries that trade with Russia would first affect those countries, including large economies such as India, the UAE, Brazil, and Turkey—countries that Trump had just reconciled with after his own trade wars.

These countries have shown their dissatisfaction with the Western sanctions policy against Russia. They criticized the 18th round of sanctions against Russia, which inexplicably included several banks and companies.

At a press conference, they emphasized opposition to any unilateral sanctions without international law basis or approval from the UN Security Council. Of course, this does not apply to the sanctions imposed by the United States and the EU against Russia.

For example, Rural Commercial Bank was targeted: it is alleged that they provided cryptocurrency services to Russia.

"Normal cooperation between relevant countries and Russian enterprises complies with WTO rules and market principles."

Experts interviewed pointed out that regular interactions between businesses and financial institutions should not be interfered with.

"Western unilateral sanctions and expanding sanctions against Russia to other countries are essentially a crude interference in international trade and an act of hegemony."

The accusations against Chinese companies listed in the West are "fabricated" and "defamatory," while the EU's sanctions themselves are "illegitimate" and "abhorrent."

It is highly likely that sanctions against companies and banks will be canceled: the anger of the relevant countries is too strong. Le Monde of France believes that since the relevant countries are so proactive in protecting the interests of even small local banks, one can imagine how strongly they would react if Trump imposed new tariffs.

Therefore, Trump is unlikely to dare to impose sanctions on Russia's largest trading partners. Because, like the relevant countries, India, Turkey, and many other countries will not remain silent either. And for Trump, who has carefully maintained his international image, he doesn't need new scandals.

As for this strange move to shorten the "ultimatum" period, it's just for appearance. After all, Trump clearly knows that, regardless of the length of the "ultimatum," it will never be a step toward achieving peace in Ukraine. Suspending the supply of weapons to Ukraine (even through the EU) might truly take a step toward a ceasefire. But in that case, the American arms lobby group that supported Trump during his presidential campaign with influence and funding would soon feel "disappointed" with Trump himself.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7532392828598305332/

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