Ukraine war: can Trump tame Russia?
Donald Trump now plans to negotiate an agreement on ending the Ukraine war personally and at the highest level - first of all at a summit meeting with Putin and then at a three-way meeting that includes Volodymyr Zelensky. This was the upshot of the "extremely productive" meeting between his special envoy Witkoff and Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the ten-day deadline Trump set for Russia to end the war expires on Friday.
The time for being patient is over
Mladá fronta dnes stresses that Trump must really make Russia sweat now:
“Yesterday, there was nothing to suggest that Vladimir Putin would give in to Washington's recent applied pressure or at least offer a compromise. If the preliminary conclusions of the meeting are confirmed, this will mean that Trump no longer has a choice. Although a head-on collision between the two locomotives is not yet necessary, the American president needs to not only take a tougher stance vis-à-vis Russia verbally, but also make good on his promises. No one can accuse him of not being extremely patient with Putin. But that has achieved nothing. Now he should show what his sanctions can accomplish if he wants to save face.”
Peace still a long way off
The prospects for Ukraine haven't improved at all, complains Le Soir:
“Not even the US president himself really believes in the effect of these threats, and the Kremlin's environment is already trying to minimise the scope of possible measures. What lazy trick will the Kremlin pull out of its hat to make the storm pass? An offer of a bilateral air truce? ... Be that as it may, the prospect of a 'just and lasting peace' in Ukraine still seems a long way off. Not to mention a unification of the peoples of Europe with a pacified Russia.”
US president trying to avoid imposing sanctions
In a Telegram post republished by Echo, Journalist Dmitry Kolesev doesn't expect the meeting to have produced any major results:
“Witkoff spoke with Putin for three hours and then reported back to Trump something which made the latter talk enthusiastically about unprecedented progress having been made. ... It's hard to believe that Putin actually agreed to substantial concessions. I think it's more likely that Trump is grasping at any straws that might allow him to avoid imposing the threatened sanctions and tariffs and will present any new move by Putin (such as the announcement of an air truce) as 'progress'.”
Ceasefire would be major progress
Because of the difficulties in reaching compromises that could bring lasting peace, interim solutions should be the goal for now, Keskisuomalainen puts in:
“Russia would have to accept that Ukraine receives security guarantees from Nato or Western countries. In a peace agreement, Ukraine would lose huge chunks of its territory and perhaps even some of its population. On the other hand, Russia would not achieve its ultimate objective of subjugating Ukraine. European countries must see to it that this does not happen. A quick peace solution à la Trump is unlikely in the coming weeks, but if a ceasefire could be reached it would already be a major step forward.”