German diplomat Christoph Heusgen — former ambassador to the UN, ex-adviser to the German chancellor, and head of the Munich Security Conference — has expressed disappointment that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has once again managed to dissuade U.S. President Donald Trump from taking decisive action in support of Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Heusgen shared his views in a comment to Ukrinform.
“I have the impression that Putin always manages to manipulate Trump. Every time Trump seems determined to take radical measures to support Ukraine (key word — ‘Tomahawk’), Putin talks him out of it. It’s disappointing,” Heusgen said.
Stefan Meister, an expert with the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), also believes that the Russian leader continues to influence Trump, restraining him from supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons and from imposing new sanctions.
“In the end, there’s nothing particularly new: Putin keeps Trump in his hands; Trump won’t impose sanctions on him or give Ukraine Tomahawks,” Meister noted.
At the same time, he said, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is now much better prepared to interact with Trump. However, this does not help much, since Trump’s interest lies not in Ukraine but rather in normalizing relations with Russia, he added.
“In this sense, there are many discussions but few results,” the expert concluded.
As reported, on Friday in Washington, Donald Trump met with Volodymyr Zelensky. The day before, at the request of the Russian side, Trump had held a phone conversation with Vladimir Putin.