Donald Trump kept up the pressure on Ukraine to move ahead with a peace deal as signals emerged that the Kremlin would be willing to accept a temporary truce under certain conditions.
Advertisement
As the American president pursues an agreement to end the war triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour three years ago, he has reversed years of US support for Kyiv, instead courting Moscow.
“We’re doing very well with Russia,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. “I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine.”
Trump’s advisers are already sketching out how they might ease the sanctions imposed on Russia because of the war, including a cap imposed on prices for its oil sales, according to people familiar with the discussions.
At the same time, US and Ukrainian officials are preparing to meet on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to improve relations and restore American arms and intelligence to Kyiv, both of which Trump suspended after a White House blow-up with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on February 28.
Advertisement
Trump’s embrace of Russia has raised fears in Ukraine and among its allies in Europe that he would try to force Kyiv into a deal on terms favourable to the Kremlin.