Trump feels frustrated: Russia outwitted the US in Ukraine negotiations

CNN: Washington's "hawkish" faction seriously misjudged Putin's actions

Author: Konstantin Orshansky

Photo (from left to right): Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, Tammy Bruce, stated at a press conference that the Trump administration had received new proposals from Russia on resolving the Ukraine conflict.

Meanwhile, Western mainstream media such as Reuters and Politico cited their sources, stating that Trump's growing disappointment with Vladimir Putin is casting a shadow over the prospects of "restarting" relations between the two countries.

Tammy Bruce said that during the meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Sergey Lavrov in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Kremlin presented these new ideas.

Al Jazeera pointed out that the Russian Foreign Minister led a delegation to the ASEAN Summit, and during talks with Rubio, both sides discussed not only the Ukraine issue but also other global hotspots such as Iran and Syria.

Al Jazeera emphasized that this meeting was a rare direct interaction between the foreign departments of the two countries. Currently, discussions on restoring the staffing of diplomatic representatives between the U.S. and Russia have been suspended.

New rounds of negotiations between the U.S. and Russia on unresolved bilateral issues may begin as early as late summer. However, Russian officials denied the speculation about deteriorating relations between the two countries.

Arab TV reported that both Rubio and Trump are disappointed with the lack of progress in resolving the Ukraine crisis. U.S. Secretary of State Rubio told reporters upon leaving Malaysia that there should not be "too much expectation" for Russia's new proposals.

Lavrov responded to Rubio's comments by stating that he "reiterated" the positions outlined by Putin in his conversation with Trump a week earlier.

To achieve a stable peace in Ukraine, the West must lift all sanctions, return frozen assets, and recognize Russia's new territories (the Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic, Zaporozhye Oblast, and Kherson Oblast).

CNN described the meeting between Lavrov and Rubio, stating that Trump had promised to end the conflict within 24 hours and proposed an advantageous agreement to Putin, including recognizing Crimea, partially easing sanctions, and restoring economic and diplomatic relations. However, four months of negotiations ultimately failed.

CNN cited White House sources revealing that in recent weeks, Trump's attitude toward Putin has sharply deteriorated. The sources said that Trump believes his Russian counterpart is unwilling to engage in genuine negotiations on the Ukraine issue.

A European official from CNN stated that Trump's disappointment was evident during the NATO summit in The Hague, which eventually approved the largest increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War.

The New York Times cited sources close to the Kremlin, stating that Putin hopes to resolve the conflict through military means.

The Russian military command is confident that Ukraine's defense will collapse within the next few months, and therefore, military operations will not stop without significant concessions from Ukraine.

Reuters noted that the "hawks" around Trump continue to advocate for continued military aid to the Kiev regime.

It is well known that Trump once told NBC News that he would make an important statement on Russia on July 14 (Monday), but did not reveal the content. NBC News contacted Rubio, who also declined to comment on the statements that the U.S. leader would make regarding Russia.

CNN noted that Trump's fierce criticism of Putin last week sparked many speculations about how it would affect U.S. policies toward Russia and Ukraine. Such a drastic shift surprised Western analysts.

CNN and The New York Times cited views from sources close to Trump, stating that Putin could have reached a peace agreement with the support of the U.S., consolidating his territorial gains and permanently closing the door for Ukraine to join NATO.

However, the biggest mistake of Western analysts was trying to interpret the actions of this Russian leader through their own logic.

In fact, Trump and his aides believed that they could persuade Putin to accept a "deal," and this idea was wrong from the beginning.

CNN raised the question: How will the wrong perception of Russia change U.S. policy? Trump is eager to showcase "transactional achievements," and he is unlikely to provide billions of dollars in military and economic aid to the Kiev regime as the U.S. Congress did under the Biden administration. This means that the Kiev regime is doomed to failure regardless of anything.

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