Trump’s calls with Putin are worth nothing – no matter how much the US president enjoys them

Donald Trump claims his two-hour phone call with Vladimir Putin went ‘very well’, but it is the Russian president who calls the shots, writes Sam Kiley, The Independent’s world affairs editor

Vladimir Putin was quick on the draw with an announcement that said nothing after his two-hour phone call with Donald Trump, as the Russian president grabbed the narrative before the Oval Office had figured out what the story even was.

The call, the White House hoped, would show how much influence the US president had in the Kremlin. But they were sorely disappointed. Instead it showed that it is, again, Putin who pulls the strings.

"We have agreed with the president of the United States that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace accord, defining a number of positions, such as, for example, the principles of settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement," Putin told reporters near the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Vladimir Putin addresses the media after his two-hour phone call with Donald Trump on Monday (AP)

Principles of settlement? That means what happens to the land that Russia has taken and the land that it has been already claimed as its own. That includes the whole of Crimea, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kherson and Donetsk provinces.

Or it might mean anywhere in Ukraine where Putin says Russian-speaking people are “in danger” and need rescuing – like Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city. No matter that this seat of learning with its 40 universities and actual rocket scientists has steadfastly driven Russian invaders out.

Putin isn’t saying “no” to the demands from around the world that he accepts an unconditional 30-day ceasefire as proposed by Ukraine and endorsed by the Trump administration. He’s not saying “yes” either – and he’s yanking Trump’s chain.

First, said Putin, the two countries would have to define a possible ceasefire, including its timeframe. The offer is defined as “stop shooting” and the timeframe is “now”, but the Russian leader shrugged.

“The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis," Putin said, after speaking to Trump. "We just need to determine the most effective ways to move towards peace."

Trump has consistently adopted Russian negotiating platforms against Ukraine. He has also supported the Kremlin in United Nations votes and frequently blamed Ukraine for the Russian invasion of its neighbour.

He has doggedly pursued efforts to improve Russia’s economic prospects and he has used the Russian invasion to gouge a minerals deal out of Kyiv in payment for future arms support. He has also ruled out US involvement in any security force for Ukraine, even if a peace deal is one day struck.

The US president said the talks between the pair went ‘very well’ (Reuters)

The US president has begun to understand that he’s appearing feeble.

When it comes to Putin he has always been weak. He’s tried to butch up in social media posts but when he’s got the man himself on the phone, all efforts to take control fail him.

“Just completed my two hour call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. I believe it went very well,” he gushed,

“The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent. If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later. Russia wants to do largescale TRADE with the United States when this catastrophic “bloodbath” is over, and I agree. There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED”.

Trump doesn’t say that Russia’s trade does not include exploiting the territories it has captured and illegally annexed. He doesn’t demand a ceasefire. He clearly put no pressure on his friend in the Kremlin.

“Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately. I have so informed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, of Ukraine,” Trump said. Really? Volodymyr Zelensky has carefully played Trump and not rejected his manifestly pro-Russian interventions, but called the Kremlin’s bluff by offering ceasefires Putin won’t take.

Talks are likely to get underway at the Vatican. They will lead nowhere.

The EU and its non-US allies are planning to tighten oil sanctions on Russia later this week, they have already increased their own defence spending and are giving Ukraine more military aid than America.

They know the calls from the Kremlin are worth nothing, no matter how much Trump enjoys them.