Trump says it’s Putin’s fault Ukraine war isn’t over – POLITICO

The comments explicitly blame the ongoing war on Moscow, as Russian energy revenues fund its war chest, and are the latest indication of Trump’s evolving perspective on the conflict and warming of relations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

It comes after Trump told reporters on Tuesday that “Zelenskyy told me he’s going to make a deal.” But, he added in the Oval Office on the first day of his second presidency: “I don’t know if Putin will do it … He might not. I think he should make a deal. I think he’s destroying Russia by not making a deal,” a reference to the country’s failing economy and inflation.

Zelenskyy, for his part, has repeatedly contacted the Trump administration to argue that it is Moscow, not Kiev, that stands in the way of a peace deal – a message Trump has clearly heard.

In his own speech in Davos on Tuesday, Zelenskyy also tried to appeal to Trump by repeating some of his talking points about the need for Europe to “step up” and be responsible for its own security, and supported the 5 percent NATO spending target.

Trump also said he would guarantee the security of supply of liquefied natural gas to Europe. “Yes, I would. I would make sure you get it. If we make a deal, we make a deal. You get it.”

The US is already the EU’s second largest gas partner and biggest LNG supplier after Russia cut off supplies following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But Trump has little power to boost exports in the short term, and potential trade friction between the US and the EU could affect gas supplies.