Vladimir Putin doubts the seriousness of Donald Trump's threats. People close to Kremlin say they won't stop the war
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at a 2017 meeting. Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev / AFP / Profimedia
Vladimir Putin does not want to “annoy” Donald Trump, but he will not give in to the ultimatum of the US president on Friday and will go further with the war lens to capture four Ukrainian regions, sources close to Kremlin have said.
Trump has threatened to impose new sanctions against Russia and 100% rates for countries that import Russian gas if Vladimir Putin does not accept an armistice until Friday. China and India would be the most affected countries by imposing tariffs.
According to two sources consulted by Kremlin, the Russian president does not want to “annoy” Trump because he is aware that he can lose a chance to improve relationships with the US and the West, but the war objectives are a priority.
This determination is reinforced by the conviction that Russia will win the war. Also, the Russian leader is skeptical that new American sanctions will have any significant impact after successive waves of economic sanctions that have hit the country in the last three and a half years.
Vladimir Putin's war goal is to capture Donetk, Luhansk, Zaporojie and Herson. Russia has announced their annexation after an unrecognized referendum by the West and Kiev, but the Russian army has no control over the entire territory of these regions.
“If Putin managed to occupy the four regions he claimed for Russia, he could say that his war in Ukraine has achieved his goals,” said James Rodgers, the author of the book “Return of Russia” (Return Russia), which will appear soon.
Peace negotiations forward hard
The current negotiations for peace, in which the Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met three times from May, was an attempt by Moscow to convince Trump that Putin did not refuse peace, said the first source, adding that negotiations did not have a real substance, apart from the discussions on humanity exchanges.
Russia states that it is serious about the long -term peace agreement in the negotiations, but that the process is complicated because the positions of the two parties are very distant. Last week, Putin described negotiations as positive.
The requests declared by Moscow include the complete withdrawal of Ukraine from the four regions and the Kiev acceptance of the status of neutrality and the limits regarding the size of its army, requests rejected by Ukraine.
In the sign that there could be another chance to reach an agreement before the deadline, Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to visit Russia this week, following the climbing of the Rhetoric between Trump and Moscow on the risks of a nuclear war.
“President Trump wants to stop the killings, which is why he sells weapons made in the US to NATO members and threatens Putin with severe tariffs and sanctions if he does not accept an armistice,” said the white house spokesman Anna Kelly.
The Kremlin did not respond immediately to the comment request from Reuters. All the sources spoke with Reuters under the condition of anonymity, due to the sensitive character of the situation.
Trump, who in the past praised Putin and presented the prospect of a profitable relationship between the two countries, recently said that he lost his patience with the Russian president. He complained about what Putin's “nonsense” called and described Russia's incessant bombings on Kiev and other Ukrainian cities as “disgusting.” The Kremlin did not comment on the statements of the White House leader.
