Political Analyst: There Is An Important Difference In Trump's Approach To Putin And Zelensky
- 22.10.2025, 17:31
It shows who the president of the United States is closer to personally.
US President Donald Trump said that in the next two days he will decide whether to meet with Vladimir Putin. Washington is making it clear: negotiations are possible only if Moscow makes a real shift on ending the war.
Can Trump's statement be considered a kind of ultimatum to the Kremlin? About this the site Charter97.org talked to Slovak political scientist and president of the Institute of Social Problems (IVO, Bratislava) Grigory Mesejnikov:
- It is difficult to evaluate this statement and some of Donald Trump's steps. I think it makes sense to just wait. And as for his general approach to the situation on the Russia-Ukraine war - he seems to have a prevailing desire for some personal results and achievements. He has this idea that he needs to become a Nobel Prize winner, and he is trying to summarize the situation in different regions of the world by taking part in some steps related to these conflicts. The main thing is that there should be some moves that would help him to get this Nobel Prize.
How this may manifest itself is very difficult to make any predictions, because Donald Trump sometimes agreed with decisions that, for example, are disadvantageous for Ukraine, and maybe the circumstances will be such that it will be less favorable for Russia.
We are now witnessing how Donald Trump shapes his own position and his own decisions under the influence of some situational factors.
- If the Budapest summit is postponed, could this lead to increased U.S. pressure on Russia - in the form of sanctions, aid to Ukraine, or other leverage?"
- Increased arms deliveries to Ukraine, including Tomahawk missiles, would be a desirable option. At first, Donald Trump openly spoke out (at least - did not oppose the supply of Tomahawks), meaning that there was already some hope that some number of missiles would be supplied to Ukraine. Already Vladimir Zelensky was supposed to fly to Washington, and then there was a phone conversation between Putin and Trump. Donald Trump issued a statement in which he questioned what he had said before. After the meeting itself with Zelensky, the decision on Tomahawks, as I understand it, became quite complicated. Now it has been announced that a summit will be organized in Budapest.
I think that Donald Trump would like in this way to somehow get involved in solving this problem, but in a way that does not require him to take any decisive steps against Russia. Because in relation to Zelensky he does behave quite harshly in personal meetings, and in relation to Putin - sometimes he makes some critical statements. However, he never behaves the way he does with Zelensky during negotiations with Putin.
I think this shows who he is closer to personally. But how much all this may affect the very course of the war now, it is hard to say.