President Donald Trump appears to have once again adjusted his position on Russia this time following a significant phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.
According to reports, Putin reached out to Trump ahead of the U.S. president’s scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. That meeting was expected to focus on whether the U.S. would provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles.
Before the call, Trump had reportedly been leaning toward supplying Ukraine with the missiles. However, after speaking with Putin, he seemed to downplay the idea instead highlighting plans for another summit with the Russian leader.
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and one of Moscow’s key contacts with Trump’s administration, summarized the outcome in one pointed remark: “Putin outmaneuvered everyone again.”
Since entering office, Trump has frequently signaled openness to Russia’s perspective on the ongoing war in Ukraine, which began with Moscow’s invasion in 2022. Despite early expectations that he might impose stronger sanctions or approve new weapons packages, he has consistently pulled back after direct talks with Putin.
During his Friday meeting with Zelensky, Trump told reporters:
“Hopefully we’ll be able to get the war over without thinking about Tomahawks. I think we’re fairly close to that. We don’t want to give away things we need to protect our country.”
However, Trump did not announce any new support measures for Ukraine or tougher actions against Moscow. Instead, he confirmed plans for another summit with Putin a move widely viewed as a diplomatic victory for the Kremlin.
For Ukraine, the outcome was disappointing. There was no sign that Russia planned to ease its strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure ahead of the coming winter.
Observers have noted that this isn’t the first time Trump has eased pressure on Putin. During their August meeting in Alaska, he dropped talk of a ceasefire agreement, after which Moscow intensified its attacks.
While acknowledging that Putin may be trying to “buy more time,” Trump defended his approach, saying,
“I’ve played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well. But I think that I’m pretty good at this stuff.”
Rather than blaming Putin for prolonging the war, Trump described the conflict as the result of “bad blood” between Russia and Ukraine claiming both sides share responsibility for the ongoing hostility.
As of now, it remains unclear what Putin said during their latest conversation to persuade Trump that a peace breakthrough could come from another meeting reportedly planned to take place in Budapest. Trump’s only public comment was,
“I think President Putin wants to end the war.”
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