Trump seeks to persuade Putin to negotiate end to Ukraine war, experts say
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President Trump has intensified diplomatic overtures toward Russia, including flattering remarks about Vladimir Putin, as his administration attempts to bring the Ukrainian conflict to the negotiating table.
President Donald Trump has stepped up efforts to engage Russian President Vladimir Putin in talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, a strategy that analysts say relies on personal diplomacy and softened rhetoric. In St. Petersburg, senior U.S. negotiator Steve Witkoff described Putin as “a humanitarian” during the release of an American detainee, a comment that drew criticism from Republican senators, including Susan Collins, who called Putin a “warmonger, a thug,” and Thom Tillis, who questioned the description on social media.
Freedom House continues to label Russia an authoritarian state where power is concentrated in Putin’s hands and dissent is suppressed. Trump, who hosted Putin at a summit in Alaska last year, has also shifted his tone toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, suggesting that “somebody else” should negotiate on Ukraine’s behalf. Former national security adviser Robert O’Brien said Trump is using “cordiality” to make Putin more willing to sit at the negotiating table, noting that previous attempts to secure a settlement had failed.
Brookings Institution foreign-policy expert Michael Kimmage warned that without a clear U.S. agenda or leverage, progress in negotiations is unlikely. The White House cited Trump’s remarks at a cybercrime roundtable, where he said his comment about Putin was “for that particular purpose” of facilitating the release of a prisoner. Trump also highlighted recent Russian cooperation on energy, noting a deal that allowed Russia to ship diesel fuel to global markets, though fuel prices have risen slightly since the agreement.
The president has invited Putin to the G20 summit at his Doral golf resort and expressed openness to a trilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on nuclear issues. Former Obama-administration official Brett Bruen said the move appears aimed at reintegrating Putin into international diplomacy. European officials voiced concern that any settlement that rewards aggression could embolden further territorial ambitions.
Amid these diplomatic moves, Trump’s inner circle has thinned, with senior aide Karoline Leavitt departing and the recent death of Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime Russia hawk. Graham’s namesake sanctions bill was signed by Trump in August, but the president waived those sanctions last week, prompting Democratic Senator Mark Warner to comment that Graham “is rolling over in his grave.”