Here is the translated HTML text:
“
From: Robert Clark, analyst and former soldier / The Daily Telegraph
Translation: Telegrafi.com
Not for the first time in his second term, President Trump is at risk of being fooled again by Putin in this year’s high-stakes diplomatic poker game.
After campaigning last year in an election where Ukraine was at the center of attention – a symbol of the failure of Washington’s foreign policy agenda and a perceived need to return to the principle “America First” – Trump repeatedly promised to end the three-year war “on day one”.
One hundred and twenty days later, with no real noticeable end of the war in sight on the horizon, President Trump conducted a private two-hour phone call with Putin in yet another attempt to bring the Russian dictator under control.
This time, instead of threats to continue funding Kiev, Trump addressed the businessman within Putin, offering promises of “limitless potential” in trade relations with the rest of the world after the conflict.
Although it is understandable that Trump – who likes to imagine himself as a master dealmaker – tries to approach Putin as an equal and a businessman, the Russian president certainly is neither of these things.
In the best-case scenario, he is a former low-ranking KGB agent and now a second-tier dictator who almost lost his domestic power when his former aide turned rebel, Yevgeny Prigozhin, threatened a coup in Moscow almost two years ago.
Trump may have his own issues, but he is not a second-tier despot – and treating Putin as an equal and now as a business partner, not only is it a disservice to himself, but also risks emboldening Putin.
Within less than four months, Trump’s strategy towards Putin has gone from sympathetic ally; then to irritant; then to threat of increased military aid for Ukraine (perceived almost existentially threatening by the Kremlin); and now to promises of unlimited trade with the USA.
The strategy that should have been followed from the start, of course, would have been a strict limitation of Russia’s access to globally leading financial markets dominated by the USA. Starmer – for the sake of truth – has led a new round of sanctions – against Russian individuals as well as against the notorious fleet of Russia. Even the EU, despite its love for Russian gas, has imposed new sanctions.
So why is Trump now so eager to appease Putin and potentially offer billions in trade deals as a reward for a ceasefire agreement from Russia’s side – in a bloody war which the Russians started without any necessary reason?
Only through a poorly thought-out strategy, accompanied by strategic miscalculation and diplomatic arrogance, can Trump believe that this latest overture to Putin will bring about any significant change in tone or stance from Moscow.
If one can judge by the low-level representatives of the Kremlin who were sent to Turkey last week to meet with Ukrainian officials, Putin will continue to drag out this process at mostly incomprehensible levels while perhaps extracting more financial promises from Trump.
It is now time for Trump to wake up and show some tough love towards Putin. For three years – and rightfully so since 2014, if not since 2008 – Putin has been mocking the West, with its weak and divided leadership, in the face of Russia’s continued aggressive behavior and provocative warfare.
Trump is desperate for a deal between Ukraine and Russia. If he thinks he can achieve this by cozying up to Putin through late-night phone calls and rewarding him with lucrative trade deals, then he has a very disappointing year ahead of him.
Trump must show himself – or suffer, along with the West, from Putin for another three and a half years – without mentioning the 120 days since. /Telegrafi/
“
