[By Guancha Observer Network, Wang Yi] On local time May 19th, Trump ended his third phone call with Russian President Putin after resuming as US President. Both sides described the call positively, with Trump saying it "went very well" and Putin also stating that the call was "very beneficial and constructive".
However, foreign media such as The New York Times of the United States and BBC of the United Kingdom reported on the 20th that this call did not signal an impending major breakthrough in negotiations. Instead, Trump's attitude shift seemed to suggest that he would no longer seek to mediate the Ukraine-Russia conflict - from promising to end the conflict within 24 hours during his campaign period last year, to revealing last week that he would personally resolve the conflict with Putin, to now Trump abandoning his stance on demanding immediate ceasefire from Russia and instead supporting Putin's appeal for direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
"This is undoubtedly a victory for Putin," Reuters quoted several European political figures as saying that after Trump informed European leaders about his call with Putin, European leaders decided to increase pressure on Russia through sanctions. However, Trump's words and actions showed that the U.S. was not yet ready to join Europe, which shocked and worried Ukraine and Europe.
Trump yielding to Putin?
Russian presidential aide Yurashev said that the call between Putin and Trump lasted for 2 hours and 5 minutes. On the 19th, TASS cited Yurashev as saying that at the beginning of the call, Putin first congratulated Trump on the birth of his 11th grandchild. During the conversation, they affectionately addressed each other by their names and agreed to communicate by phone as needed. Trump also told Putin, "Vladimir, you can pick up the phone anytime, I'm happy to answer, I'm happy to talk to you." RIA Novosti added that "both presidents did not want to end the conversation, it could be said that neither wanted to hang up."
According to RT's report on the 19th, the main focus of the two leaders' conversation was the Ukraine-Russia conflict. After the call, Putin briefly spoke to reporters and stated that the two leaders agreed that Russia would draft a memorandum specifying the principles of possible peace agreements and the time for signing treaties.
Puerto emphasized that this dialogue was very constructive, and the key issue now was the firm commitment to peace shown by both Russia and Ukraine and reaching compromises acceptable to all parties. "Russia's position is clear. Eliminating the root causes of this crisis is most important to us."
On May 19, 2025, Russian President Putin held a press conference after discussing the Ukraine-Russia issue with Trump. Visual China
After the call, Trump also posted on his self-created social media platform "Truth Social" praising the call as "excellent". He wrote that Russia and Ukraine would immediately begin ceasefire negotiations and these negotiations would take place directly between the two fighting sides "because they know negotiation details others do not know".
The New York Times analysis pointed out that this is completely different from Trump's threatening attitude in April. At that time, Trump thought that Putin was using delaying tactics against him, so he proposed new sanctions on Russian banks to exert more pressure on Russia.
Now, the report said, Trump not only prepared to step back, urging Russia and Ukraine to reach agreements directly with each other, but also seemed to want to hand over his mediation role to the Pope. In his statement, he said that the Vatican had expressed interest in hosting the upcoming negotiations and urged, "Let this process begin!"
The New York Times pointed out that although Trump now describes peace negotiations as a concession from Putin, it is actually him stepping back and supporting Putin's ideas because Russia has responded to the call for immediate ceasefire by proposing extending negotiations. Ukrainian and Russian officials held their first direct talks in over three years in Istanbul, Turkey on the 16th, and the call on the 19th did not achieve any meaningful breakthrough.
The article pointed out that this shows that in the face of deep divisions and complex political motivations between Ukraine and Russia, Trump's confident personal charm and negotiation skills currently have no effect.
After the call, Trump also boasted that Russia hoped to conduct "large-scale trade" with the United States after the conflict ends, and Ukraine may also become a "huge beneficiary" of the trade.
BBC noted that Trump used new trade agreements and economic investments as incentives to persuade Putin to reach a peace agreement, without discussing any negative consequences, such as new sanctions on Russia's banking and energy sectors. Politico also reported that Trump found that he could not impress Putin mainly with carrots rather than sticks, and now seemed to intend to retreat without implementing new economic sanctions.
Ukraine and Europe panic as the U.S. hints at withdrawal
Late on the evening of the 19th, when Trump was questioned by reporters in the Oval Office at the White House about whether he insisted on the stance that "the war will not make progress unless an agreement is reached with Putin", he firmly stated that he would not give up mediating negotiations between the two countries but admitted that he had a "red line".
"I tell you, this involves very very big egos. Although there is such ego, I believe there will be progress. If there isn't, then I will retreat - let them continue on their own," Trump emphasized that this conflict "is originally Europe's matter."
He then said, "There is a red line in my mind, but I won't publicly say what it is", because making public the bottom line would only increase the difficulty of negotiations, but he reiterated "this is not my war. We got involved in a conflict that originally wasn't ours."
On May 19th, Trump talked about his call with Putin at a press conference. Video screenshot
Clearly, Trump was reserving space for possible strategic concessions or policy shifts. Politico reported that US Vice President Vance seemed to hint at this possibility on the 19th. After attending the inauguration ceremony of Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican, he said that both sides of the Ukraine-Russia conflict were in "some deadlock", and "we are very willing to leave, the United States will not waste time here, we want to see results."
"If the United States withdraws from the war as Vance threatened, does this mean that the United States will also end any military and intelligence support to Ukraine?" BBC said that if this is the case, this possibility is enough to worry Ukraine and Europe.
Before the formal call between Trump and Putin on the 19th, Ukrainian President Zelensky had a call with Trump. After ending his call with Putin, Zelensky joined Trump's joint call with the President of the European Commission, France, Italy, Germany, and Finland.
During the call, Zelensky reiterated several demands: Ukraine was always ready for direct negotiations with Russia and was "already ready for a comprehensive and unconditional ceasefire"; if Russia did not genuinely stop the conflict, it must face "more severe sanctions"; the negotiation process must involve appropriate level participation of representatives from the United States and Europe.
European Commission President von der Leyen also stated on the social media platform X that their call with Trump "was good", "it is crucial for the United States to stay involved".
However, according to a source familiar with Trump's calls with Ukrainian and European leaders, participants were "shocked" by Trump's unwillingness to use sanctions to pressure Russia.
Politico reported that European leaders who had spoken with Trump also revealed that if the United States stopped mediating, they would continue doing what the United States would not do and increase pressure on Russia through sanctions. German Chancellor Scholz posted on X on the evening of the 19th, stating that after Trump informed them about his call with Putin, European leaders decided to increase pressure on Russia through sanctions.
BBC analysis pointed out that the arrival of some form of negotiation between Russia and Ukraine after nearly three years of conflict is undoubtedly progress, but the series of calls on the 19th seemed to indicate that any ceasefire or peace agreement remains far off.
This article is an exclusive article by the Observer Network, unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
Original link: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7506439413124186678/
Disclaimer: This article represents the author's personal views, and you are welcome to express your opinions by clicking the "Like/Dislike" buttons below.