Fresh off a fragile Gaza ceasefire, Trump says he’s now focused on ending Russia’s war on Ukraine
WASHINGTON AP With a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal holding President Donald Trump says he s now turning his attention to bringing Russia s war on Ukraine to an end and is weighing providing Kyiv long-range weaponry as he looks to prod Moscow to the negotiating table Trump will speak with Russia s Vladimir Putin on Thursday as he considers Ukraine s push for long-range missiles according to a White House official who was not authorized to discuss a private call and spoke on the condition of anonymity Ending the wars in Ukraine and Gaza was central to Trump s reelection pitch in which he persistently pilloried President Joe Biden for his handling of the conflicts Yet like his predecessor Trump also has been stymied by Putin as he s unsuccessfully pressed the Russian leader to hold direct talks with Ukraine s Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end the war that is nearing its fourth year But fresh off the Gaza ceasefire Trump is showing new confidence that he can eventually make headway on ending the Russian invasion He s also signaling that he s ready to step up pressure on Putin if he doesn t come to the table soon Interestingly we made progress in the present day because of what s happened in the Middle East Trump noted of the Russia-Ukraine war on Wednesday evening as he welcomed supporters of his White House ballroom project to a glitzy dinner Earlier this week in Jerusalem in a speech to the Knesset Trump predicted the truce in Gaza would lay the groundwork for the U S to help Israel and multiple of its Middle East neighbors normalize relations But Trump also made clear his top foreign agenda priority now is ending the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II First we have to get Russia done Trump announced turning to his special envoy Steve Witkoff who has also served as his administration s chief interlocutor with Putin We gotta get that one done If you don t mind Steve let s focus on Russia first All right Trump weighs Tomahawks for Ukraine Trump is set to host Zelenskyy for talks Friday their fourth face-to-face meeting this year Ahead of the meeting Trump has declared he s weighing selling Kyiv long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles which would allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory if Putin doesn t settle the war soon Zelenskyy who has long sought the weapons system reported it would help Ukraine put the sort of pressure on Russia needed to get Putin to engage in peace talks Putin has made clear that providing Ukraine with Tomahawks would cross a red line and further damage relations between Moscow and Washington But Trump has been undeterred He d like to have Tomahawks Trump reported of Zelenskyy on Tuesday We have a lot of Tomahawks Agreeing to sell Ukraine Tomahawks would be a splashy move stated Mark Montgomery an analyst at the conservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington But it could take years to supply and train Kyiv on the Tomahawk system Montgomery noted Ukraine could be better served in the near term with a surge of Extended Range Attack Munition ERAM missiles and Army Tactical Missile System known as ATACMS The U S already approved the sale of up to ERAMs to Kyiv earlier this year The Tomahawk with a range of about miles kilometers would allow Ukraine to strike far deeper in Russian territory than either the ERAM about miles or km or ATACMS about miles or kilometers To provide Tomahawks is as much a political decision as it is a military decision Montgomery noted The ERAM is shorter range but this can help them put pressure on Russia operationally on their logistics the command and control and its force disbursement within several hundred kilometers of the front line It can be very effective Signs of White House interest in new Russia sanctions Zelenskyy is expected to reiterate his plea to Trump to hit Russia s market system with further sanctions something the Republican to date has appeared reluctant to do Congress has weighed ordinance that would lead to tougher sanctions on Moscow but Trump has largely focused his attention on pressuring NATO members and other allies to cut off their purchases of Russian oil the engine fueling Moscow s war machine To that end Trump declared Wednesday that India which became one of Russia s biggest crude buyers after the Ukraine invasion had agreed to stop buying oil from Moscow Waiting for Trump s blessing is act in the Senate that would impose steep tariffs on countries that purchase Russia s oil gas uranium and other exports in an attempt to cripple Moscow economically Though the president hasn t formally endorsed it and Republican leaders do not plan to move forward without his help the White House has shown behind the scenes more interest in the bill in fresh weeks Administration personnel have gone through the measure in depth offering line edits and requesting technical changes according to two authorities with knowledge of the discussions between the White House and the Senate That has been interpreted on Capitol Hill as a sign that Trump is getting more serious about the statute sponsored by close ally Sen Lindsey Graham R-S C along with Sen Richard Blumenthal D-Conn A White House official reported the administration is working with lawmakers to make sure that introduced bills advance the president s foreign approach objectives and leadership The official who was granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations stated any sanctions package requirements to give the president complete flexibility Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained Wednesday the administration is waiting for greater buy-in from Europe which he noted faces a bigger threat from Russian aggression than the U S does So all I hear from the Europeans is that Putin is coming to Warsaw Bessent stated There are very minimal things in life I m sure about I m sure he s not coming to Boston So we will respond if our European partners will join us
