President Donald J. Trump participates in a bilateral meeting with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin during the G20 Japan Summit Friday, June 28, 2019, in Osaka, Japan. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead.)Donald Trump is getting played. Again. On Friday, he fired a warning shot straight at Putin on Truth Social: “Interesting times ahead!!!” and followed it with “It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader’s country.”
That was aimed right at Russia. But the response from Moscow? Crickets. Trump’s been on a diplomatic sprint. First he welcomed Putin to Alaska for a cozy meet-up. Then he held talks in D.C. with Ukraine’s Zelensky and several European leaders.
The goal was simple; get some kind of peace deal in motion. But not one single concession came out of the Kremlin. Putin didn’t budge. Not on a ceasefire. Not on a summit. Not on anything.
Putin ignores Trump’s push for summit
Zelensky, standing next to NATO’s Mark Rutte, didn’t hold back. He said Moscow was “doing anything” to avoid a meeting with Ukraine. He accused Russia of dragging the war out. “They do not want to end the war,” Zelensky told reporters. That completely blows a hole through Trump’s plan to get both men to the table.
Even Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed the same. He said a summit between Putin and Zelensky wasn’t happening anytime soon. “The agenda is not ready at all,” Lavrov stated. He added that while Moscow had shown flexibility on a few ideas from Trump, the core Russian demands hadn’t changed.
Trump’s reaction was surprisingly cautious. When asked if he’d just let things slide if Putin refused to talk, he said he’d wait and figure out “whose fault it is.” His timeline? Two weeks. “I think in two weeks, we’ll know which way I’m going,” Trump said. Then he added a fork in the road: either slap on “massive sanctions” or step away entirely.
Trump also bragged on Friday about getting a photo from Putin, taken during their Alaska meeting. “I was just sent a picture from somebody that wants to be there very badly,” Trump said. He added, “He’s been very respectful of me and of our country, but not so respectful of others.” Respectful? Maybe. But not responsive.
Stubb warns Trump is losing patience
Finland’s president Alexander Stubb spoke up next. He said his Thursday night call with Trump gave off serious frustration vibes. “There were some small indications that patience is wearing thin,” Stubb told Finland’s YLE TV1.
He doesn’t expect the Zelensky–Putin meeting to happen in the next week and a half, which was the original plan. He predicted that would be the breaking point. “That’s when the patience will probably run out.”
Stubb said European leaders are preparing for that exact moment. That’s when they expect Trump to finally act, either with sanctions or tariffs. Stubb said: Trump is the only one who can push Putin toward peace. “He’s the only person Putin listens to,” Stubb said, “and frankly, the only one Putin fears.”
Europe’s goal is to get the US to provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the form of air defense and provision of intelligence, but that the guarantees would look “very different from NATO’s Article 5,” Stubb said.
Meanwhile, oil markets are holding steady while this mess drags on. On Friday, Brent crude rose 6 cents to $67.73. West Texas Intermediate was up 14 cents to $63.66. Both rose more than 1% the day before. Weekly gains were 2.9% for Brent and 1.4% for WTI.
