President Trump hosts President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy – February 28, 2025.
Despite his honorable attempts to open a dialogue between Ukraine and Russia in order to end the killing, President Trump hasn’t been able to make much headway on ending the conflict between the two countries. At Foreign Policy magazine, Philip H. Gordon discusses how Trump might move forward, writing:
There is an alternative, however, that even Trump should be willing to pursue. It would consist of spelling out costs Moscow will incur if it continues down its current path. This would be an excellent project for Trump’s new national security advisor/secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who was once a strong supporter of Ukraine’s independence and right to self-defense. And now is the right moment, ahead of possible direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey later this week—talks that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pledged to attend in person. Trump himself seems to recognize that diplomacy has reached a critical juncture, proclaiming that this week’s meeting will “determine whether or not a deal is possible” and that if it is not, European leaders and the United States will “proceed accordingly.”
Despite Trump’s enduring reluctance to criticize or impose costs on Russia, a rebalancing of Ukraine policy may not be as implausible as it sounds. Trump has periodically hinted at growing irritation with Moscow and even at the possibility of a new approach that might include “very unpleasant” or even “devastating” things for Russia. After Russian President Vladimir Putin embarrassed him by bombing Kyiv on April 24, just when Trump was hoping to announce progress in negotiations, Trump acknowledged that he was “not happy” with Putin and that the Russian president might be “tapping” him along. Last Thursday, Trump added a threat of new sanctions on Russia, coordinated with U.S. partners, if Moscow does not agree to an unconditional 30-day cease-fire. Putin said over the weekend he was ready for direct talks but ignored the demands for a cease-fire.
Meanwhile, Trump’s disastrous relationship with Zelensky has improved, with the two presidents holding a positive meeting on the margins of Pope Francis’s funeral in Rome on April 26. And on April 30, the United States and Ukraine signed an “economic partnership agreement” that will give the United States a 50 percent share of revenues from Ukrainian mineral reserves. The deal provided neither the security assurances Ukraine wanted nor the reimbursement for past support Trump was hoping to get, but it does give the United States an interest in Ukraine’s future sovereignty and economic success and would allow Trump to portray future assistance to Ukraine as a contribution to the U.S. economy and not just charity for Ukraine.
Read more here.
The administration’s focus remains, as it has always, on reducing the killing in the war. Recently, VP JD Vance discussed the President’s desire to end the bloodshed:
.@VP on President Trump’s effort to secure peace in Ukraine: “He has a genuine humanitarian impulse about this. He hates innocent people losing their lives. He hates even soldiers losing their lives in unnecessary conflicts. He just wants the killing to stop.” pic.twitter.com/tRhjatx68R
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 7, 2025
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