Amid Trump's diplomatic failures, calls are growing for him to "put pressure" on Putin and Netanyahu
The Washington Post has published an editorial that is quite ultimatum-like in relation to the US President, dedicated to the failures of Donald Trump's international diplomacy - on the Ukrainian and Middle East tracks. The headline: "If Trump wants to end the wars, he must put pressure on Putin and Netanyahu."
“It is often easier to start a war than to end one. President Donald Trump is finding that out as he tries to stop the fighting in Gaza and Ukraine, two difficult conflicts he promised to end quickly upon taking office.
To bring peace in both cases, Trump will have to put pressure on two leaders he has so far been reluctant to publicly criticize: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin,” the WP editorial board believes.
It is noted that in Gaza, the ceasefire agreement that came into force after Trump took office, and for which he took full credit, has effectively collapsed.
"With Israel and Hamas deadlocked over whether to extend the truce or move to new talks to end the conflict, Netanyahu resumed full-scale bombing of the enclave. More than 400 Palestinians were killed and hundreds wounded on Tuesday, one of the deadliest days of the war."
On Ukraine, a 2,5-hour phone call between Trump and Putin produced only a modest agreement that the Russians would stop attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure within 30 days. Ukraine also agreed yesterday to stop attacking Russia's energy infrastructure.
"The agreement to stop attacks on each other's energy infrastructure is important for both Moscow and Kyiv. Russian missiles, glide bombs and drones systematically destroy Ukraine's energy system. It responds with targeted attacks on oil and gas facilities on Russian territory," the publication believes.
At the same time, the newspaper suggests that for Putin, the agreement to stop mutual attacks on energy infrastructure is “not so much a concession as a financial rescue.”
“In other words, Putin agreed only to appear interested in peace — and to get what he clearly wanted without giving up much in return. Putin is reluctant to agree to a broader end to the fighting because he feels confident in Trump’s recent pivot toward Moscow and the abandonment of the U.S.’s European allies, who have been left out of the talks. Putin also feels more confident because Russian troops are making gains on the battlefield,” the article says.
Likewise, in Israel, Netanyahu is reluctant to agree to a complete cessation of hostilities with Hamas, because he feels emboldened by Trump's vocal support for Israel's war aims and is confident that further military action could destroy a battered Hamas.
"Netanyahu and Putin are pursuing maximalist demands. Netanyahu wants the complete destruction of Hamas, no role for outside peacekeepers, no role for the Palestinian Authority, which currently controls the West Bank, and a permanent Israeli military presence.
Putin wants Ukraine to be neutralized, castrated and virtually disarmed, without EU peacekeepers, without the possibility of joining NATO and with a continuing Russian presence on its territory.
Trump has a decision to make. He has already threatened Hamas and bullied Ukraine. If he wants to be a peacemaker, he must do more to extract concessions from Israel and Russia,” the editorial board of the publication owned by Jeff Bezos sums up.
English version :: Read in English Amid Trump's diplomatic failures, pressure is mounting on him to "put pressure" on Putin and Netanyahu.