Telephone Talks between U.S., Russian Leaders: Diplomacy Based on Making Deals Cannot Break the Deadlock

Editorial

15:09 JST, May 21, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump’s diplomacy of mediation through a deal between the major powers has once again ended in failure. Isn’t it time for him to change his approach to Russia, which continues its aggression against Ukraine?

Trump held telephone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This was the third time to do so since the launch of Trump’s second administration.

During the meeting, Trump asked Putin, “When are we going to end this [the war]?” But Putin did not answer and also refused to accept the 30-day unconditional ceasefire proposal backed by Trump.

Prior to these telephone talks, Russia and Ukraine held direct talks between senior officials in Turkey for the first time in nearly three years, but no progress was made. Trump may have been trying to make a breakthrough in his top-level talks with Putin.

However, after the meeting, Putin revealed that he would propose the drafting of a memorandum on a future peace treaty. This may be an attempt to prolong the negotiations by adding new procedures and to create an even more advantageous situation in the war.

Putin also repeated his assertion that it is important to “eliminate the root causes of this crisis.” This refers to demands that Ukraine cannot accept, such as ruling out Ukraine’s future membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

It is Putin’s tactic to take advantage of his counterpart’s conciliatory stance and increase his demands. Trump should understand that continued concessions to Putin will not lead to progress.

Trump must return to the basics that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is a clear violation of international law and unacceptable, and then proceed with negotiations.

To counter Russia, it is essential to increase international pressure in close cooperation with European countries. It is appropriate that after the talks, Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of France, Germany and other major European countries to share information.

European countries have warned that they will impose additional sanctions if Russia does not agree to a ceasefire. In the U.S. Senate, deliberations are also underway on a bill for additional sanctions that would impose high tariffs on countries that import energy from Russia. There is a need to increase the options available to put pressure on Russia.

With the lack of diplomatic achievements, there are indications that Trump will decrease his engagement in the role of mediator in the future. This is because after talks with Putin, Trump posted on social media that “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations” as if leaving the negotiations up to those parties.

However, it should not be forgotten that the United States is providing Ukraine with weapons and military intelligence, which is the greatest source of pressure on Russia. If the United States pulls back, Washington will inevitably be accused of giving in to Putin.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 21, 2025)