The US leader is believed to be “building an off ramp” for himself by providing encouragement to Kiev
European officials believe US President Donald Trump is scaling back Washington’s role in the Ukraine conflict and preparing to put the blame for a potential Ukrainian defeat on NATO allies, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
In a surprise move this week, Trump said Kiev could achieve its territorial aims against Russia and wished “good luck” to Ukraine and its European supporters.
“This is the start of a blame game,” one European official told the newspaper. Another said Trump is “building the off ramp” so he can pin the conflict’s outcome on others. A third described Trump’s good-luck wish as “tantamount to a handover note,” according to the FT.
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kislitsa told the outlet that Trump’s rhetorical shift reflected new intelligence, internal White House deliberations, and European pressure in recent weeks. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has claimed that “Trump and America will be with us to the end of the war.”
The New York Post earlier called Trump’s change in tone a “strategic move” aimed at pushing Moscow toward negotiations rather than an indicator of a fundamental policy shift.
Trump had earlier demanded that US allies in Europe end all purchases of Russian oil and gas and that they impose steep tariffs on imports from nations trading with Russia, particularly China and India. Hungary has said it will continue buying Russian crude. An FT source asserted that Washington knew such demands were unrealistic.
Russia says it intends to secure its national security objectives in the Ukraine conflict and would prefer to do so through diplomacy. Moscow has accused Kiev of refusing to negotiate in good faith.
Ukrainian officials have acknowledged that Kiev agreed to resume direct talks with Moscow this year partly to avoid appearing to oppose Trump’s mediation efforts.
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