Trump-Putin conversation/ Analysis: Who won in the two-hour call?

Last month, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, had harsh words for Vladimir Putin, hinting that the Russian leader was taking advantage of the time, or was "procrastinating" when the White House was making efforts to end Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which is now in its fourth year.

Diplomatic efforts were at their peak; Kiev had accepted an immediate, unconditional ceasefire for 30 days; Moscow does not; Ukraine and Russia continued to hit each other with drones and missiles.

"Vladimir, STOP," Trump wrote on social media on April 24, after a Russian missile attack on Kyiv, which was extremely deadly.

Two days later, after a meeting in the Vatican with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump wrote of Putin: "It makes me think that, perhaps, he doesn't want to stop the war."

On May 8, Trump threatened Moscow with sanctions if it does not accept the ceasefire proposal.

But, on May 19, Trump and Putin spoke on the phone - for the third time since Trump returned to the White House in January.

For Trump, the conversation that lasted over two hours brought about a surprising change, both in content and tone: there was no longer a demand for Putin to accept an immediate ceasefire. And, the White House was pulling back from efforts to stop the fighting.

"Russia and Ukraine will immediately start talks on a ceasefire and, most importantly, to END the War," Trump wrote on social networks.

"The conditions for this will be negotiated between the parties, as it should be, because only they know the details that no one else knows," he added.

The two leaders addressed each other on name, a senior Kremlin adviser told reporters.

After all, this was what Putin wanted.

"Trump, in essence, blessed Putin's proposal to hold talks based on a framework document on the basis of which peace negotiations would be conducted," said John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

"If we use Trump's words, Putin is still 'dragging' him, and unfortunately Trump today succumbed to that," Hardie told Radio Free Europe.

"Vladimir Putin has a clear goal: to continue military operations. He is ready to negotiate with Trump on everything except Ukraine," Ivan Preobrazhensky, a Russian political commentator, told Current Time.

"Trump is happy to back down and pretend he did everything he could," he added.

Even before taking office in January, Trump had made ending the war in Ukraine a top priority of his foreign policy. His top emissary, Steve Whitkoff, traveled three times to Moscow to try to reach an agreement.

The lack of progress — despite many meetings and talks — had publicly disappointed Trump and his top advisers, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance.

There have been warnings that American patience is running out.

Kremlini ka treguar pak gatishmëri për të lëvizur nga pozicionet e tij. Negociatorët rusë dhe ukrainas u takuan në Stamboll javën e kaluar për herë të parë ballë për ballë që nga javët e para të luftës, e cila shpërtheu pasi Rusia nisi pushtimin e plotë në shkurt 2022.

Kishte edhe shpresa që Zelensky dhe Putini të takoheshin, diçka që lideri ukrainas ishte i hapur ta bënte.

Por, Putini mungoi në momentin e fundit. Negociatorët e tij - një delegacion i nivelit të ulët - përsëritën kërkesat maksimaliste të Moskës që ishin në tryezë në vitin 2022, derisa ato bisedime dështuan.

Duke folur për gazetarët pas telefonatës - para se Trump të fliste publikisht - Putini përsëriti fjalët e tij të kamotshme për “shkaqet rrënjësore” të luftës - një term që në thelb nënkupton vënien në dyshim të së drejtës së Ukrainës për të ekzistuar, e për më tepër të gjithë rendit ndërkombëtar pas Luftës së Ftohtë.

“Pozicioni i Rusisë është i qartë. Eliminimi i shkaqeve rrënjësore të kësaj krize është ajo që ka më shumë rëndësi për ne”, tha Putini.

“Nuk ka asnjë tregues se Rusia po ndryshon qëndrim”, tha Stephan Kieninger, hulumtues në American-German Institute.

“Deklarata e Trumpit nuk përmbajnë asnjë shenjë trysnie ndaj Rusisë. Është e qartë se Trumpi nuk është i gatshëm të përballet me Putinin”, i tha ai Radios Evropa e Lirë.

Nëse kjo ndodh vërtet, tërheqja nga përpjekjet për paqe do të përbënte premtim të përmbushur për Trumpin - edhe nëse bëhet në kurriz të Ukrainës.

It would also be consistent with Trump's transactional foreign policy, reflecting a businessman's approach to reaching deals. In his post after the call, Trump included this offer to Moscow: "There is an extraordinary opportunity for Russia to create large amounts of jobs and wealth."

"Donald Trump really wants to make business deals. He really sees business as a way to solve any crisis, absolutely, whether to prevent it or end wars," said Aleksandra Filippenko, an expert based in Lithuania.

That business logic partly prompted Zelensky last month to sign a deal that gives American companies privileged access to Ukraine's valuable mineral resources. The White House had previously made the continuation of the supply of weapons to Kiev conditional on the signing of such an agreement.

Despite the White House's change of position, Zelensky, who spoke separately with Trump before the call, appeared to support the US president's proposal.

"This is a crucial moment," he wrote on Telegram. "Now the world can see if its leaders are really capable of securing a ceasefire and achieving genuine and lasting peace."

Zelensky rejected Trump's proposal to withdraw from the peace talks, demanding that Washington remain engaged because "only Putin is interested in this".

European countries, which support Kiev, are preparing for this moment: the possibility that the White House will try to reach an agreement directly with the Kremlin - leaving either Europe or Ukraine out of the process.

On the eve of the phone call with Putin, Trump spoke about the war with the leaders of Britain, Germany, France and Italy.

Europeans reiterated support for a ceasefire and warned of more sanctions if Russia does not stop the aggression.

"Europeans must react," Kieninger said. "How prepared they are to face Putin with new sanctions without the United States, that remains unclear."