Pistorius pointed to Trump's weak position in negotiations with Putin

US President Donald Trump misjudged the negotiation situation on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. This was announced on May 21 by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Deutschlandfunk radio.

Answering a journalist's question whether Trump had betrayed Europe, the head of the German military department said that "no, I would not say that."

"I think he (Trump. — Ed.) simply misjudged the situation during negotiations with [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, or overestimated his strength as an American president," Pistorius believes.

In his opinion, the first mistake of the American leader was made at the beginning of the negotiation process, when the issue of Ukraine's membership in NATO was ruled out.

"This is a very unfortunate starting position for further negotiations on peace or a cease—fire," the German defense minister added.

Peaceful gravity: Russia is ready to work with Ukraine on a future treaty

What else did Putin and Trump talk about on the phone for more than two hours 

On the same day, The New York Times reported that Putin had won a diplomatic victory in a conversation with Trump. In addition, it is noted that the conversation between the Russian leader and the American made it clear that Moscow would not agree to a temporary truce.

On May 19, the Russian President and the US leader had a telephone conversation that lasted more than two hours. During the conversation, the Russian leader expressed gratitude for the U.S. participation in the resumption of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine. Currently, the two heads of state are faced with the task of determining the most "effective ways to move towards peace."