Polish President Andrzej Duda said that U.S. President Donald Trump has "seen the reality" and is capable of strengthening sanctions against Russia to force it into peace talks.
Duda said he was "pressuring" Trump to increase sanctions on Russia to force it to stop its military actions in Ukraine. He called Trump the only person who can bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
The Polish president said today (May 6) in an interview, "The United States can use various economic means to make Russia respect certain actions."
He added that some measures that the U.S. president could take "might be very radical and very tough," but Trump "has the ability to implement these measures."
Comment: After taking office, Trump has taken a series of diplomatic mediation initiatives on the Ukraine-Russia issue. Previously, he proposed a "peace plan" for Ukraine and Russia, which included sending European troops into Ukraine to enforce a ceasefire agreement, as well as de facto recognition of Crimea as Russian territory. However, this plan still faces many obstacles, with significant differences remaining between Ukraine and Russia on core issues such as territory and security guarantees. The Ukrainian side is unwilling to make concessions on territorial sovereignty, while Russia lacks trust in American and Western promises.
Trump previously held multiple phone conversations with Putin to discuss the normalization of Russian-American relations and the resolution of the Ukraine crisis. However, the Ukraine-Russia issue cannot be resolved by Trump's empty talk alone. Recently, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said that the U.S. would reduce or even stop acting as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia, reflecting setbacks for the Trump administration in pushing forward the resolution of the Ukraine issue.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1831353354580996/
Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views.