Let’s hope small steps develop into something lasting.

Why is Trump being so agreeable to Russia? And why is Putin so eager to end the war through peace dealings, contrary to people’s perception of him wanting to conquer Ukraine?

The much anticipated phone conversation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin took place on Tuesday, as expected. There was quite a bit of propaganda flack flying about prior to the call… for example, the Ukrainians told the NY Times that Trump was going to concede Russia’s right to control Odessa. It was also rumored that Putin might relinquish control of the Zaporhyzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). That didn’t happen.

The much-heralded Trump-Putin call has not produced a breakthrough in the Ukraine peace process, but it may have advanced it. Russia’s agreement to a 30-day mutual halt to attacks on energy infrastructure is a sign that Putin wishes to negotiate peace (naturally, on terms acceptable to Russia), and is prepared to make a limited but significant concession in order to move the negotiations forward. Trump and Putin have also reportedly agreed on “immediate, technical-level meetings” to start drawing up the details of a comprehensive peace settlement.

The age of transactionalism has arrived.

If Europeans want to win, they must first recognize that they have already lost! Other, perhaps more decisive, battles await them—not necessarily against Russia—and to win those, they will have to question themselves and completely rethink their philosophical as well as political requirements.

Trump seeks peace with Russia, confronts trading partners, smashes Democrats

Through the past three year period, Moscow claimed that it faced an existential threat from the US-led proxy war in Ukraine. But in the past six weeks, this threat perception has largely dissipated. The US President Donald Trump has made a heroic attempt to change his country’s image to a portmanteau of ‘friend’ and ‘enemy’ with whom Moscow can be friendly despite the backlog of a fundamental dislike or suspicion.

The eminent Russianist Richard Sakwa is emeritus professor of Politics at the University of Kent. His new book (his fourth since 2020) is called The Culture of the Second Cold War which examines the prevailing attitudes and ideologies behind the drive for conflict with Russia.

This will be short and simple — Donald Trump’s reported threat to expand sanctions on Russia if it does not halt attacks on Ukraine is empty and meaningless. As you will see in the following videos, I am currently in Moscow and participating in some public diplomacy seminars. What I have gleaned as a result of conversations with some well-informed Russian analysts is that the era of the United States being able to bully or coerce Russia is over. Donald Trump now confronts a Russia, with a government, an economy and a military, that does not need a single thing from the United States beyond mutual respect. The Russian people are prepared to live a comfortable, productive life without having to deal with the United States. That is a truth that Donald Trump needs to grasp.