As Trump and Putin circle each other, an agenda beyond Ukraine emerges

They have already carefully finished each other for seven days and seven days – sending invitations to speak, mixing a few jabs that hit the ego, the only way to end the Ukrainian war is probably to meet without Ukrainians.

President Trump and Vladimir V. Putin, their relationship has always been, and still is, an era of mystery and psychodrama. But this is not a simple runm. Mr. Trump has been unusually tough in his rhetoric over the past week, calling out Mr. Putin “Ruined Russia” If he does not come to the negotiating table, he threatens sanctions and tariffs on the country.

Mr. Putin responded by agreeing with Mr. Trump that Russia had not attacked Ukraine three years before Mr. Trump became president. He reiterated that he is ready to sit down and talk about the fate of Europe, superpower, leader to leader superpower.

“He wants to talk and we’re going to talk soon,” Trump told reporters on Saturday night. As they prepare the ground for this first conversation, they are sending signals that they want to negotiate more than just Ukraine — a war that Mr. Putin says is just one of the arenas in which the West wants to wage its own fight against Russia.

The two men have been in talks for almost a year, including a conversation on nuclear weapons that has perhaps revived all ties between Moscow and Washington, limiting both nations’ arsenals. They would then be free to pursue the kind of arms race the world has not seen since the deepest days of the Cold War.

Recalling conversations with Mr. Putin in 2020, before his defeat in the U.S. election, Mr. Trump said, “We want to see if we can denuclearize, and I think that’s very possible.” He speculated that China would participate in the same conversation. (At least he has refused so far.)

When he used the word “denuclearize,” Mr. Trump almost certainly meant negotiating a new deal to reduce, a new deal to check stockpiles of strategic nuclear weapons capable of crossing continents. For his part, Mr. Putin spoke of talks on “strategic stability,” not the number of nuclear weapons deployed by each side, but between talks on how to verify them and steps to prevent their use.

The last, initial arms control talks ended shortly before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Mr. Putin has since had to include the war in Ukraine in any talk of limiting nuclear arms. The Biden administration has said it fears Mr. Putin’s real goal is to trade restrictions on his nuclear arsenal in Ukraine and other concessions for territory.

But Mr. Trump appears open to broader talks, which Mr. Putin wants because it could allow him to make that trade.

If any long-term security is to be guaranteed, Mr Trump must come to terms with Mr Putin and avoid a devastating war, as he has insisted in recent days if he wants to offer President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Mr. Trump, who wants to establish himself as a peacemaker in Ukraine, seems anxious to play a substantial role in the process, unlike former President Joe Biden, who was “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.” .

“The thing I want to hear most about all these mixed exchanges is that this is something that the Russians and the United States will strike by themselves,” said Stephen Sestanovich, a Russian and Eurasian Studies Specialist, first and foremost State Department official.

The 80-year-old retired general, any retired general by Mr. Trump, insists the key to getting the talks going will be the economy, not the loss. “When you look at Putin, you can’t just say, ‘OK, stop killing,’ because the candidate, that’s not their mentality,” he said. he insists by limiting his income.

Mr Putin is trying to telegraph a wait-and-see approach to Mr Trump despite Russia’s huge losses, confident of its position in Ukraine’s war zones. Russia’s war aims have not changed, he said, and when it is ready to end the fighting, it will do so only on its own terms.

At a minimum, Mr Putin has said he would demand 20 per cent of Ukraine be protected, 20 per cent of a deal that would limit Russia’s NATO membership and military presence in Ukraine.

At the same time, Mr. Putin has announced his willingness to engage with the United States in a broader, broader, broader, broader way after three years of diplomatic isolation.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry S. Peskov told reporters in the coming days that Mr. Putin was ready to accept Mr. Trump’s invitation. “We are waiting for signals,” said Friday. “Everyone is ready.”

Mr. Putin himself has twice gone out of his way to lavish praise on Mr. Trump — a proven method of winning in Mr. Trump’s favor.

On Monday, Mr. Trump’s inauguration day, he held a televised meeting of Russia’s Security Council — an event that happens on Fridays and mostly behind closed doors. He said Mr Trump had led a “courageous” life and won a “convincing victory”.

In a staged moment on Friday, Mr. Putin stopped short of answering a state television reporter’s question about Mr. Trump. Kremlin immediately located Video on website.

“Based on today’s realities, it is perhaps better that we speak quietly about all areas of interest to both the United States and Russia,” Mr. Putin said. He brushed aside Mr Trump’s threats of sanctions, calling them “sensible” and “pragmatic” and speaking Mr Trump’s language, saying Mr Trump’s 2020 election had been “stolen” from him.

Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Putin has discussed with Mr. Trump a willingness to discuss a broader set of issues than just the war in Ukraine. In comments on state television on Friday, Mr. Putin said the Kremlin and the Trump administration “could jointly seek joint solutions to key issues today, including strategic stability and the economy.”

“Strategic Stability” reference, 2021 with the KREMLIN’S PRICE Office, we discussed Short Term Killing Control and Procrastination issues, arms control and non-proliferation issues for renewal of a new start from the EU. Former Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who negotiated for the U.S. side, said in an email. (A fresh start is an arms control treaty that Russia has partially suspended and which expires in February 2026.

Ms. Sherman noted that the talks were being disrupted by “Putin’s monstrous invasion” ahead.

Mr. Putin’s invitation for broader talks was due to Mr. Trump’s tough words on Russia last week and the president’s raft of new sanctions against Russia, he said.

Mr. Trump also blamed the President of Ukraine for not reaching an agreement with Mr. Putin that could have prevented a war.

“I could do this very easily, and Zelensky said, ‘I want to fight,'” he said.

He made it clear that he was not interested in Mr. Biden’s pro-Ukraine rapprochement. But with his tough rhetoric against Mr. Putin last week, Mr. Trump is trying to show that he is not a pushover for the Russian leader as he prepares for the possibility that he may not be able to get Mr. Putin to negotiate a deal that works for all parties.

“To put Putin off balance, Trump has to show a deal if it only makes sense to Ukraine and our allies,” Mr. Sestanovic said.

When Mr. Putin accepted talks with Mr. Trump, Russian officials did not depart from their general message about the United States as a malign force in the United States — a sign of how the Kremlin is hedging its bets on talks with Mr. Trump.

Ms. Sherman, who has extensive experience negotiating with Russia, said the Trump administration should be ready if negotiations with Russia begin. “Putin will always want what he wants: as much territory as possible, no Ukraine in NATO, no western nuclear weapons that can target Russia.” With that in mind, actually negotiating a pursuit for a new starter’s contract is “low on the list.”