Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin wave at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam, November 2017 (Sky)
EA on India’s NDTV: Putin’s Next Gamble in Ukraine
I joined Poland’s TVP World on Monday to evaluate whether Donald Trump, frustrated that Vladimir Putin will not halt attacks on Ukraine’s civilians, will finally toughen sanctions on Russia and those who trade with Moscow.
In the 12-minute discussion, I summarize why Trump declared a 50-day deadline and then one of “10 or 12” for Putin to cease fire. I analyze how the Kremlin will try to push that back through an invitation to Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, to Moscow. And I look at the position of China and India, who would be most affected by any American secondary sanctions.
I think the US system is moving towards this. But will Trump finally accept the sanctioning of Russia? That’s a different question and we won’t know until we get to the deadline.
We also discuss the chest-thumping of former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Trump on Friday, culminating in Trump’s declaration that he has order two US “nuclear submarines” to deploy off the coast of Russia.
