Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday identified a silver lining in the cloud of deteriorating East-West relations, pointing to Donald Trump’s presidency as a “light at the end of the tunnel.” Speaking in Sarov, Putin acknowledged that Moscow’s relationship with Washington had hit an “extremely low level” over issues like the Ukraine war and NATO expansion.
However, this optimistic assessment from the Kremlin is set against a backdrop of immense pressure from the White House. President Trump has given the key players in the Ukraine conflict just two weeks to show progress before he makes a significant policy decision. This decision could involve severe new sanctions against Russia or a decision to remain uninvolved.
Trump’s timeline is intended to push Russian and Ukrainian leaders to the negotiating table. Having met with both President Putin and President Zelensky recently, Trump is now waiting for them to schedule their own summit. The future of US policy in the region appears to hang on the outcome of this diplomatic test.
Putin, while signaling hope for a better relationship with Trump, also reaffirmed a core tenet of his foreign policy. He argued that for Russia, losing sovereignty would mean ceasing to exist, a fate he contrasted with that of Western European countries. This highlights the deep ideological divides that persist even as personal diplomacies are being explored.