President Donald Trump is seriously considering abandoning diplomatic efforts until Ukraine and Russia begin to show more flexibility. A senior White House official told Axios about this, UNN reports.
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A senior White House official told Axios that Trump is seriously considering abandoning diplomatic efforts until one or both sides begin to show more flexibility.
"We're going to sit back and watch. Let them fight for a while and see what happens."
Axios reports that some American officials have begun to view European leaders as the main obstacle, despite Trump having a friendly meeting with them and Zelenskyy less than two weeks ago.
As Axios learned, senior White House officials believe that some European leaders publicly support President Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine, while secretly trying to undermine the behind-the-scenes progress made since the Alaska summit.
The White House has instructed the U.S. Treasury Department to compile a list of sanctions that Europe could impose on Russia.
As Axios emphasizes, two weeks after the summit between President Trump and Russian President Putin, there has been almost no noticeable progress in ending the war. Frustrated Trump aides argue that the blame should be placed on European allies, not on Trump or even President Putin.
It is also reported that White House officials are losing patience with European leaders, who, they claim, are pushing Ukraine to make unrealistic territorial concessions from Russia.
Axios learned that the sanctions the U.S. is urging Europe to impose on Russia include a complete cessation of all oil and gas purchases, as well as additional EU tariffs on India and China, similar to those the U.S. has already imposed on India.
"Europeans have no right to continue this war and justify unreasonable expectations while expecting America to bear the responsibility. If Europe wants to escalate this war, that's their business. But they will hopelessly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory."
Trump's inner circle believes that Europeans are pushing Zelenskyy towards a "better deal" — a maximalist approach that has escalated the war.
American officials believe that British and French officials are acting more constructively. However, they complain that other major European countries want the U.S. to bear all the costs associated with the war without making any contribution.
After summits with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump has repeatedly stated that the next step should be a summit between Putin and Zelenskyy. So far, the Russians have refused.
At the same time, Ukrainians have rejected any discussion of possible territorial concessions unless the Russians come to the negotiating table.
Trump was visibly frustrated with the situation during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. "Everyone is just posing. It's all nonsense," he said.
A senior European official involved in negotiations with the U.S. regarding the war between Ukraine and Russia expressed surprise at the criticism from the U.S.
The official was surprised by the suggestion that European leaders are playing one game with Trump and another behind his back, stating that such misunderstandings do not actually exist.
The official also said that European countries are already working on a new set of sanctions against Russia.
On Friday, Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and Zelenskyy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak met in New York.
They discussed a potential meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, and Yermak invited Witkoff for a first visit to Kyiv, but no significant progress was made, a source familiar with the meeting said.