This is supposed to be the week that Donald Trump finally loses patience with Vladimir Putin.
The Russian leader doesn’t seem too troubled.
The US president is threatening to impose secondary tariffs on countries that buy Russian exports unless Putin calls a halt to his invasion of Ukraine by Friday. China and India are two key targets as major importers of Russian oil.
Yet both Beijing and New Delhi have signaled they’re not about to buckle to the demand to cut ties with Moscow. Markets seem skeptical, too.
Trump plans to send Steve Witkoff to Russia on Wednesday or Thursday, though it’s unclear if Putin will meet the US envoy for a fifth time this year. There seems little urgency — Trump announced the move last Thursday.
Meanwhile, Putin will host the first state visit by Malaysia’s king to Russia this week. He’s the latest in a string of leaders from Global South nations to visit Russia, demonstrating the failure of US and European efforts to isolate Putin. India’s Foreign Ministry described the partnership with Russia as “steady and time-tested.”
Trump brought forward his original 50-day deadline after saying he was “disappointed” at Putin’s intransigence on a truce. “Disappointments arise from excessive expectations,” Putin told reporters on Friday.
With Russia advancing slowly on the battlefield, Putin has no incentive to accept a ceasefire. It’s unclear what cards Trump has left to play in making good on his pledge to end the war he blames on his predecessor Joe Biden.
He largely outsourced US arms supplies to Ukraine by making European allies buy them. Now he’s about to deploy an economic weapon that even Trump has said he’s doubtful will “bother” Putin.
The risk for Ukraine and European allies is that Trump eventually walks away, declaring he’s done all he could.
That would allow Putin to turn Trump’s impatience to Russia’s benefit. — Anthony Halpin