Trump says Putin wants a deal more than Zelensky does

US President Donald Trump said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is more interested in a deal than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The remarks were made on Monday and, according to the DPA agency, became known overnight into Tuesday. Trump also said he sees violations of the energy truce, which he himself announced, on both sides.

Asked by a reporter about Russia violating the truce he had announced, Trump replied that he first has to look into the situation: “Because there were violations on both sides.” On Monday Zelensky said he learned of the truce announcement from the media. According to him, Russia violated the ceasefire, while Ukraine itself did not strike Russian oil refineries overnight into Monday. He also urged the US to force Moscow to comply with the truce.

What is known about the truce

On Sunday Trump announced that an energy truce is in effect in the Russia-Ukraine war, effective immediately, and that both sides, in his words, had agreed to it. Moscow has not commented on it; Kyiv said it would observe the truce if Russia does the same.

When reporters asked how he would make Putin honor the agreement, Trump answered that the Kremlin chief wants a deal and that Zelensky needs to be persuaded to want one too. “I believe they will reach an agreement. Moreover, I think Putin is more interested in it than Zelensky,” he added.

Russian oil and sanctions

Last Friday Trump said he had agreed with Putin that Russia would immediately supply the American and world markets with more than 300,000 tonnes of oil (about 2.2 million barrels), with volumes rising in the coming months. Observers believe the White House chief hopes in this way to bring down prices ahead of the November congressional elections, where expensive fuel matters to many voters.

The US consumes almost four million barrels of oil a day, so if the entire promised volume were delivered this month, it would amount to about half of American daily consumption.

The temporary easing of sanctions on Russian oil angered European allies and Kyiv. Zelensky called Trump’s move a sign of obvious weakness. He has repeatedly proposed an unconditional ceasefire, but Moscow has refused: it links an end to the fighting, among other things, to the handover of all of Donbas, including parts that Russian forces have not yet captured. Kyiv does not agree to this.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz