To hear JD Vance, the vice-president, tell it, the phone call between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin was going to be a test case as to whether Moscow was serious about ending the war. “The President has been very clear, the United States is not going to spin its wheels here,” Vance told journalists. “We want to see outcomes.”
Well, there weren’t many outcomes other than a promise to continue talking. After a two-hour conversation with Putin, alongside more discussions with President Zelensky and European leaders, Trump sought to put the best possible light on his efforts.
“Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” Trump said on Truth Social. The commentariat was decidedly unimpressed and you can hardly blame them.
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