Trump seeks ways to pressure Putin and Zelensky - US Ambassador to NATO
Photo: US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker (Getty Images)
The current war in Ukraine is a trench war, in which no one wins. US President Donald Trump continues to support Ukraine while also pressuring Kyiv and Moscow to push the leaders of both countries to start negotiations, according to US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker in an interview with Newsmax.
"President Trump is trying to explore ways to continue the pressure on (Russian President) Vladimir Putin, continue the pressure, quite frankly, on (Ukrainian President) Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and also look for new ways to continue to press, to bring both sides to the table to agree to a ceasefire, end the war, and just end the killing," Whitaker said.
According to him, Trump is growing increasingly impatient with Putin’s unwillingness to move toward de-escalation. He emphasized that the US president "holds all the cards."
"And, at the end of the day, he's going to play those cards as he sees appropriate to continue to create the circumstances to keep Vladimir Putin at the table, to get him to negotiate, to resolve this war, because the killing has to stop. And President Trump, I think, is just really frustrated, to be quite frank with you, that Vladimir Putin won't end this war," the US Ambassador to NATO said.
He added that Trump’s statement on sanctions was the "most important" outcome on Wednesday, noting that almost simultaneously, a new sanctions package was announced in the EU.
Sanctions against Russia
On October 22, the US imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. The list included over 30 subsidiaries of both companies, including oil fields, gas facilities, and refineries across the country.
The US Treasury called on the Kremlin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The EU is also continuing to increase economic pressure on Russia. The new 19th sanctions package targets energy revenues and seeks to counter the shadow fleet.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has already called the US sanctions "an act of war" against Russia.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "We’d still like to meet with the Russians … I had a good call with foreign minister Lavrov and we’ll follow up on that. We’re always going to be interested in engaging if there’s an opportunity to achieve peace."
