Posted on 08/22/2025 3:02:15 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump started the week declaring a diplomatic breakthrough in his bid to prod Moscow and Kyiv closer to peace, announcing he had begun arranging for direct talks between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Four days later, the Republican president’s optimism has diminished. Russia’s top diplomat made it clear Friday that Putin won’t meet with Zelenskyy until the Ukrainians agree to some of Moscow’s longstanding demands to end the conflict.
It’s a stinging setback for Trump, who had been touting his diplomatic blitz as resulting in indisputable momentum for a deal to halt a conflict he vowed as a candidate to end on Day One in office.
Trump said Friday he expected to make a decision on his next actions in two weeks if direct talks aren’t scheduled. He raised the possibility of imposing new sanctions or tariffs on Russia, a threat he has previously floated but not followed through on.
“We’re going to see whether or not they have a meeting,” Trump told reporters in an Oval Office appearance. “It’ll be interesting to see. If they don’t, why didn’t they have a meeting, because I told them to have a meeting. But I’ll know what I am going to do in two weeks.”
Trump has touted a breakthrough that wasn’t
Trump announced Monday that he had begun making the arrangements for a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting soon after concluding White House talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders as well as speaking by phone with Putin.
European leaders cheered the president’s tone at the White House meeting, when he made vague promises to back European security guarantees for postwar Ukraine.
Trump also appeared to ease European anxiety heightened by his...
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
Zelenskyy wants to meet with Putin, Trump wants the meeting to happen..if Putin refuses, put heavy sanctions on him thats it
Putin balked?
How could that be? He’s such a statesman of great benevolence and influence. He’d never ever ever do that. He can be 110% trusted.
(sarcasm)
Suppose the sanctions accomplish nothing, as they won’t. And why were other sanctions chosen if they were going to accomplish nothing, as they have?
It’s very hard to accept being powerless, but that’s reality.
The names of these AP experts continue to amaze me.
Maybe Trump can send Putin an autographed picture of them together? Bromance for the win!
If only Chamberlain was such a master strategist!
Maybe you can volunteer to fight for your beloved Ukraine!
They are accepting volunteers.
Wow. The AP really crammed as much spin as they could into that headline. Who says the journalists of today are just writing it in? That one required some real effort.
At this point Putin has no motivation for peace unless it is on his terms. Russia is winning the war.
Trump is making a serious effort. If Putin doesn’t cooperate, no fault of Trump.
I’d say both Putin and Zelensky are balking since they’re still blowing things up in each other’s country.
Retards both are the ZMan and the PMan.
I think it was well worth the effort.
I see President Madman
One is the aggressor, and the other is defending their home.
To suggest they are the same is just nuts.
Is it possible that Trump was banking on Putin and Zelensky to not meet. Would Putin and Zelensky failing to meet allow Trump to negate any Article-5-like promises, which were predicated on a negotiated peace?
If Putin and Zelensky negotiate a peace, Trump wins. If Putin and Zelensky fail to negotiate a peace, we dodge Article-5-like promises.
The LeftWokeazi media falls over themselves to declare failure of any Trump initiative. So far they end up looking like idiots. Trump has some cards to play yet I figure.
Ur an idiot.
“It was a mistake for Trump to try to arrange a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.”
Peace is worth the effort. It didn’t work so now we should stay out of it as we should have all along. It’s none of our concern.
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