Europe is frightened by Trump's change of position on Ukraine. What the media is writing
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- Europe is frightened by Trump's change of position on Ukraine. What the media is writing
Recent statements by US President Donald Trump about the conflict in Ukraine have not aroused enthusiasm among European allies. They fear that the head of the White House wants to shift responsibility for the crisis onto them and will not take any action against Russia. Washington insists that Trump's rhetoric is part of his negotiating tactics. What the media write about the US president's attitude towards Kiev is in the Izvestia digest.
NBC News: Trump's rhetoric is changing, his actions remain the same
Trump has suddenly become optimistic about Ukraine's chances of regaining territories, but a change in rhetoric means little if he is not ready to increase pressure on Russia, diplomats and foreign officials say. His post on September 23 regarding the conflict can be interpreted in different ways. One version is that he is tired of the shelling and is ready to step up coercive measures to force Russia to retreat.
NBC News
Another interpretation is that Trump has ended his futile attempts to reach a peace agreement. Instead, it leaves it up to the warring parties and European countries to resolve the conflict themselves, as much as possible. "Good luck to everyone!" Trump wrote at the end of his post.
Nothing in Trump's post obligated the United States to take more active action against Ukraine. He did not mention the imposition of additional sanctions against China for its economic support of Russia. He also did not promise to impose new sanctions against Russia. Instead, he said that the United States would continue what it is already doing: selling weapons to NATO, which the alliance, in turn, supplies to Ukraine. Currently, the allies do not expect Trump's new assessment to lead to concrete actions, such as providing weapons to Ukraine.
Financial Times: European officials fear Trump's accusations of failure
European officials fear that Trump's latest rhetoric towards Ukraine is aimed at setting them an impossible task that will allow the US president to absolve himself of blame if Kiev fails in the conflict or Brussels runs out of money. After months of pressure on Ukraine, Trump stunned European capitals that Kiev could "fight and win with the help of the EU."
Financial Times
While Trump's new position was positively received in some circles, some European officials concluded that he was shifting responsibility for Ukraine's defense onto them, expecting Europe to fail to meet those expectations. Trump also took a tougher stance on sanctions, calling on the EU to stop buying Russian oil and impose duties on goods from China and India. Viktor Orban, a Trump ally, has long stated that he would block these steps.
According to an aide in a European government, Trump is "creating a back door" to blame Europe if necessary. The shift was "impressive" and "generally good," but Trump "set the bar very high," the German official said. Another European official called Trump's signature "Good luck to everyone!" under his post in Truth Social equivalent to a transfer of power. Another one said: "Everyone can see that he's pulling away."
The New York Times: Trump washes his hands of the conflict
Eight months into his second term, Trump made a statement on Ukraine vaguely reminiscent of his predecessor Joe Biden's statements. With the right combination of courage, ingenuity and NATO weapons, he said on Tuesday, Ukraine can force Russia to retreat. But if you dig deeper, it turns out that there is a deeper desire in Trump's change of position at the UN summit in New York. Trump seems to want to wash his hands of the Ukrainian conflict after he failed to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, and his chances of mediating between the two warring sides are gradually decreasing.
The New York Times
As with many of Trump's political statements, it is difficult to guess his true beliefs and it is impossible to guarantee that he will not change his position. He is extremely volatile. His views on foreign policy, according to former aides, are more often dictated by irritation and a sense of disrespect for him than by strategic analysis.
His own key advisers seem to have been caught off guard by the sudden conclusion that Ukraine, after years of struggle, is suddenly capable of retaking a fifth of its territory. On the same day that Trump released his opinion on Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio repeated the administration's old maxim that the conflict in Ukraine "cannot end militarily," predicting that "it will end at the negotiating table."
The Washington Post: The White House called Trump's attacks on Russia a negotiating tactic
Trump's furious rhetoric against Russia is a "negotiating tactic" designed to put pressure on the Kremlin, a senior White House official said, a day after the president stunned world politicians and delighted Ukrainian leaders by supporting Kiev's ambitions to defeat Russia. The apparent turn in favor of returning the entire territory to Ukraine is an indicator of Trump's disappointment.
The Washington Post
However, Trump did not signal major changes in US policy towards Kiev during a meeting of the UN General Assembly, during which he met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, the official said. The US president has long stated that Ukraine would have to give up territories in order to end the conflict, so his statement on Tuesday that Kiev could "RETURN all of Ukraine to its original form" with the right support was a significant breakthrough.
A senior White House official said that all the president's actions are viewed through the lens of the question: "How do we make a deal?" Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials who met with Trump were delighted with the meeting, one senior Ukrainian source said. There was a warm atmosphere between the two leaders — not at all the same as in February, when Trump kicked Zelensky out of the White House. Just a few weeks ago, the White House suggested that Ukraine should transfer territory to Russia, so Ukrainian officials acknowledge that Trump's position may change.
Bloomberg: Europe feels on the hook because of Trump
While Ukraine and its allies were surprised by Trump's new optimistic view of Kiev's prospects in the conflict with Russia, there were signs of a familiar step on the part of the US president — increasing pressure not on Russia, but on Europe. Publicly, Ukrainian and European officials welcomed Trump's change of stance. Privately, they were more cautious, feeling that he was shifting the responsibility of ending the crisis onto them.
Bloomberg
"By suggesting that Russia could become a paper tiger on the brink of an economic crisis, Trump is 'really just trying to piss Putin off,'" said Kurt Volker, special representative for Ukraine negotiations during Trump's first term. "But he's not saying he's going to do anything about it."
Since his return to the White House, Trump has periodically threatened to impose large-scale new sanctions, which, according to him, will force Russia to come to the negotiating table. But he only rarely fulfilled his promises, repeatedly giving Putin more time. This week, U.S. officials assured allies that the administration recognizes the need for a new approach. A White House official said Trump had made it clear that this was not a U.S. conflict and that the Europeans should step up efforts and take charge of their own defense.
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