(tnnd) – President Donald Trump said “full majors with Sharil Atoxon” and not agreeing to Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine is “bad news for this world.”
“There are so many people dead,” Trump told Atoxon. “But I think… he’ll agree. I’ll really do. I think I know him pretty well, and I think he’ll agree.”
Russian foreign policy expert Mark N. Katz said Trump believes the war is badly continued for Ukraine as well as Russia and other Europe.
Katz, professor emeritus of government and politics at George Mason University, said:
Trump views war as counterproductive, Katz said.
Trump believes that by ending the war, Russia can normalize relations and see sanctions lifted, Katz said.
Ending the war would save lives.
And it even opens the door for investment in Russia, Katz said.
“From a perspective of dealing with Trump, that makes sense,” he said.
However, he said Trump cannot detain American companies to invest in or trade with Russia. And many of them have had bad experiences in Russia in the past.
Trump is scheduled to speak with Putin on Tuesday, pushing to end the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine agreed to the Americans proposing a 30-day ceasefire with Russia.
The ball is now on Putin’s court.
The ceasefire breakthrough came in a meeting last week between us and Ukrainian officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Saudi Arabia.
The United States has also agreed to resume military aid and sharing information with Ukraine.
The turnaround came after a tense White House meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Voldy Mir Zelensky at the end of last month.
Trump told Atoxon that he wanted to end the war to save lives and money, and told her that since the Russian invasion in February 2022, the US had spent “a lot of money” on helping Ukraine.
Trump told Atoxon that the US spent $350 billion on Ukraine.
The Council of Foreign Relations says the United States has pledged $175 billion to support Ukraine through five bills passed by Congress in April 2024.
The Diplomatic Council said much of the Ukrainian fund passed in the Congress is being spent in the United States, paying to produce weapons that will be shipped to American factories and workers or used to replenish American weapons.
The US is Ukraine’s largest donor, but more than dozens of European countries have given Ukraine a large portion of its economic achievements in support of Russia.
Atoxon also asked Trump about his campaign pledge to end the war in 24 hours in the election.
“Well, when I said it, I was a bit sarcasm. …What I really mean is that I want to calm it down,” Trump told her.
Katz said it’s likely that Trump knows that it’s a campaign promise he can’t sustain.
“I’m sure he knew he wouldn’t finish within 24 hours during the campaign,” Katz said. “I think he was trying to show him during the campaign (he was trying to get it to finish quickly.”
Katz said it’s not easy to agree to Putin to a ceasefire.
And it probably won’t happen anytime soon.
“Putin shows he doesn’t just want a ceasefire,” Katz said. “He wants to address the underlying cause, so he wants a ceasefire and concessions from Ukraine and the West.”
Putin doesn’t want the West to continue arming Ukrainians, Katz said.
The French and the British are talking about sending troops to Ukraine to provide security assurances in the event of a ceasefire, but Katz said both countries would be wary of sending troops without US support.
Ukraine and the West may demand that North Korean troops leave Russia, Katz said.
North Korea is helping Russia drive Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region, and its mission has been largely achieved. Therefore, President Putin would be fine if he lost North Korea’s support on the battlefield.
According to Katz, Putin wants to not only maintain what he has obtained, but also add the remaining land to the partially occupied Ukrainian province.
Russia controls Ukraine, about 44,000 square miles. This controls nearly a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including parts of Crimea and Donbass seized by Russia before the 2022 invasion.
Russia has taken over another 27,000 square miles of Ukraine since its invasion three years ago.
And Putin wants assurance that NATO will not recognize Ukraine.
NATO was founded in 1949 by the United States, Canada and several Western European countries to provide collective security for the Soviet Union.
NATO membership is between NATO and candidate countries, Katz said.
Katz said Putin is likely to entertain the ceasefire talks as he does not want to burn the bridge with Trump.
However, Katz doesn’t see Putin making an immediate commitment.
If Putin ultimately disagrees with a ceasefire, Trump will have to decide whether he wants to increase pressure on Russia through more sanctions or with more support on Ukraine to increase pressure on Russia.
Katz said it is unlikely that more sanctions will change Russia’s behavior.
And he said Trump probably doesn’t want to increase his support for Ukraine.
Katz said Putin might try to cram Trump into that tough decision.
“Putin might see it as a way to call it Trump’s bluff,” Katz said.
Or Katz said Putin might try and strive to work hard on Ukraine between agreeing to a useful deal for Russia or agreeing to the risk of further damages its relationship with Trump.
Katz said it was the classic Russian “dividing the enemy from the opponent’s strategy.”
