Desk Report,
Why have relations between Putin and Trump deteriorated? Are they heading towards ‘conflict’?
Is the relationship between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin completely ruined?
Why have relations between Putin and Trump deteriorated? Are they heading towards ‘conflict’?
At least that’s what a popular Russian newspaper thinks. They used the example of a train to explain the current US-Russia relationship.
The newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets wrote, “It is now almost certain that a terrible collision is coming. Trump’s train and Putin’s train are running head-on on the same track. Neither is stopping, nor is either changing direction.”
Putin’s “train” is moving at full speed towards continuing the war in Ukraine, which Russia calls a “special military operation.” Putin has shown no desire to stop the war or to negotiate a long-term ceasefire. On the other hand, Trump’s “train” is increasing pressure on Moscow to stop the war. Trump is setting deadlines, issuing warnings, threatening new sanctions and imposing tariffs on Russia’s trading partners such as India and China.
Added to this is Trump’s claim that he has ordered the deployment of two US nuclear submarines near Russia.
When the train reaches the topic of nuclear submarines, it becomes clear how serious the matter is. But does that really mean that the White House and the Kremlin are on the verge of a head-on collision over the Ukraine issue?
Or does Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit to Moscow prove that, no matter how many threats there are, it is still possible to reach an agreement between Russia and the United States to stop the war?
Warm relations begin after Trump’s return
At the beginning of Trump’s second term, it seemed that Moscow-Washington relations were about to improve again. There was no sign of any conflict. Rather, it seemed that Trump and Putin were on the same train, moving in the same direction.
Last February, the United States sided with Russia at the United Nations. It opposed a resolution put forward by Europe that condemned Russia’s “aggression” in Ukraine.
That same month, Trump and Putin discussed visiting each other’s countries by phone. It seemed that a Trump-Putin meeting could happen any day.
At this time, the Donald Trump administration was putting pressure not on Russia, but on Ukraine. In addition, it was also involved in conflicts with traditional allies such as Canada and Denmark.
Trump and his administration officials were harshly criticizing NATO and European leaders in speeches and television interviews. All this was good news for the Kremlin.
A Russian security analyst, Konstantin Blokhin, said that the United States now has more contact with Russia than with Europe or Ukraine.
Then, last April, a Russian newspaper wrote, “The Trumpists are revolutionaries. They are change agents. They must be supported. There is no such thing as Western unity anymore. In geopolitical terms, it is no longer an alliance. Trumpism has destroyed trans-Atlantic unity with confidence and speed.”
At that time, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff was regularly visiting Russia. He visited four times in just two months. He met with Putin for hours. After one meeting, Putin gave him a portrait of Trump, which he was asked to give to the White House.
Trump reportedly became very emotional after receiving the picture. But Trump didn’t just want a picture. He wanted Putin to unconditionally and fully agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Trump’s frustration is growing
Putin is now confident that he is ahead on the battlefield. So, although he says he is ‘interested in a diplomatic solution’, he is not willing to stop the war.
That is why Trump is constantly frustrated.
Recently, Trump called Russia’s attack on Ukrainian cities ‘disgusting’ and ‘shameful’. He accused Putin of saying ‘a lot of bad things’ about Ukraine.
Last month, US President Trump gave Russian President Putin a 50-day deadline to stop the war or face sanctions and tariffs. Later, he reduced it to 10 days. The deadline ends this week. But so far, there has been no sign of any flexibility from Putin. But the question is, is Putin feeling any pressure at all?
Nina Khrushcheva, a professor at The New School in New York, said that Trump has changed the deadline so many times—sometimes this way, sometimes that way. That’s why Putin no longer takes him seriously.
Khrushcheva said that Putin will continue the war as long as he can. Or until Ukraine itself gets tired and accepts Russia’s terms.
This analyst said that Putin thinks that he is fulfilling the dreams of Russian tsars or leaders like Stalin. He is showing Western leaders that Russia cannot be humiliated.
