In the first days after returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump managed to make many loud statements about ending the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine. However, what was most memorable for everyone was the American leader's public address to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, which was effectively an ultimatum. What did Trump really want to say and to whom was he addressing?
Points of attention
- Trump conveyed a message to Russian elites through a public appeal to Putin.
- The US president's messages are aimed at undermining the dictator's authority within Russia.
- Trump's public pressure on Putin should force the Russian dictator to reconsider his policies.
Trump appealed to Russian elites, not just Putin
Taras Zagorodniy, managing partner of the National Anti-Crisis Group, shared his observations.
He points out that the new head of the White House is an experienced negotiator, so he is not trying to humiliate Putin.
He addressed him as an equal, because he wanted to get a specific result.
I think this is more of a message to the Russian elites, saying, "Get rid of this psycho and we'll talk." I'm sure Trump is well aware of Putin's demands, which he can't fulfill. Can Trump give Zaporizhia or Donetsk region to him, dismantle NATO's military infrastructure in Europe, lift sanctions on Russia? This is absolute nonsense.
According to the expert, against this background, the new US president decided to launch public pressure to force Putin to come to his senses.
In Russia, people have long been dissatisfied with the development of events
What is important to understand is that Donald Trump is trying to undermine Putin's position domestically, despite the fact that his authority there has long begun to crumble.
Many Russian propagandists have already begun to whine that the dictator has brought the country to such a state that the Americans are speaking to them in an ultimatum tone.
Even if he goes to some negotiations, he will be humiliated anyway. And this undermines, first of all, Putin's power. In fact, it is very good that Trump started talking to him like this.
As Taras Zagorodny noted, this indicates that the "Assad scenario" in Russia is becoming increasingly real.