Russian President Vladimir Putin set a huge trap for US President Donald Trump during their phone call, POLITICO reports.
Washington and Kiev agreed to a 30-day ceasefire and the ball was in Moscow's court. However, Russia has consistently set a series of unworkable conditions and refused to lay down its weapons within 30 days.
Matthew Shoemaker, a former US intelligence officer and national security expert, warned that Trump risks falling into Putin's trap by allowing Russia to use “classic Soviet tactics from the Cold War” of slow negotiations.
The Russian leader said he generally supports the idea of a 30-day ceasefire on the front line, but he remains skeptical about how it would work. Russian and American “teams of experts” will now meet in the Middle East to try to answer some of those technical questions and make more progress toward a ceasefire, it emerged after a phone call yesterday.
However, experts say this is a classic Soviet tactic, tried and tested many years ago. Putin made demands that seemed impossible, chief among them a halt to all foreign military aid and a halt to the sharing of Western intelligence with Ukraine.
During the Cold War, American leaders often resisted being drawn into such drawn-out processes. Trump risks falling into this historical trap, as Putin’s delay could allow Russia to strengthen its position militarily and politically while undermining trust among the United States and its allies.
One potentially worrying sign for Ukraine and its European allies was the tone of the White House after the phone call. The Trump administration did not wag its finger at Moscow or issue ultimatums, but instead even talked about economic rapprochement with the Kremlin. Then came the strange part.
After the call, which was considered a possible turning point, it became clear that the two leaders had talked about hockey. The Kremlin announced that Trump had supported Vladimir Putin's idea to organize hockey games between Russian and American players.
Kiev's reaction was not long in coming. Zelensky said in his nightly television address that Russia was deliberately prolonging the war. EU leaders, in turn, pointed out that Putin could not be trusted and had not given up on his original dream of Ukraine's surrender. By all accounts, Trump has no intention of opposing him.