[Report by Zhang Qian] On the 14th, President Donald Trump met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in the Oval Office at the White House, where he made what he described as a “major statement” regarding Russia. Trump not only threatened to impose tariffs on Russia but also announced the sale of weapons to Ukraine. According to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on the 14th, hours after announcing the “major statement,” Trump expressed his disappointment in Russian President Vladimir Putin but noted that their relationship has not yet concluded. The Russian side had also responded to Trump’s criticism of Putin, stating it would “handle it calmly.”
The BBC reported that during the interview, Trump mentioned that he had four times believed it was likely to reach an agreement with Russia to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“I am very disappointed with him, but we have not finished yet. But I am very disappointed,” Trump said.
When asked whether he trusted Putin, Trump responded, “I almost do not trust anyone.”
Regarding the issue of NATO, Trump expressed satisfaction with the current state of NATO self-defense being funded out of its own pockets.
On the 9th of this month, Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary for the Russian President, also stated that Trump’s comments about Putin were “very unsatisfactory,” and Russia maintained a “calm” attitude towards it and continued to seek to repair relations between Russia and the United States. “We are very calm about this, after all, Trump’s style of speech is always quite tough,” Peskov remarked. Trump’s statements showed that he realized the difficulty of resolving the Ukraine issue “much more than he initially anticipated.”
According to reports from Agence France-Presse and Sky News UK, the Kremlin stated on the 15th local time that Russia needed time to analyze Trump’s “serious” declaration issued on the 14th and was ready to restart negotiations with Ukraine. Peskov, Press Secretary for the Russian President and spokesperson for the Kremlin, mentioned in an interview that “President Trump’s statement is very serious. We certainly need time to analyze Washington’s position.”
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has attracted multilateral competition.