Putin Already Outfoxing Trump At The Negotiating Table

(MENAFN- Asia Times) Since returning to the White House in 2025, US President Donald trump has dramatically reshaped US policy toward Russia, adopting a markedly softer stance on Vladimir Putin and the ongoing war in Ukraine. This approach has included cutting military aid to Ukraine and pressuring Kyiv to accept unfavorable terms to end the fighting.

Trump is also weakening America's negotiating position by repeatedly and prematurely signaling the concessions the US is willing to make.

Historically, Russia has responded to strength, not appeasement. As US diplomat and historian George Kennan famously stated in his 1946 Long Telegram , the Soviet Union understood only the language of power. He was proven right – throughout and since the Cold War, Western concessions have often invigorated rather than calmed Russian aggression .

Trump's transactional approach to diplomacy is reinforcing this established pattern, emboldening Moscow, and diminishing any prospect of a just resolution to the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Undermining US leverage

Since February, President Trump has taken several actions that align with Russian strategic interests . These have included:

Cutting military aid to Ukraine, despite bipartisan warnings that reducing support could shift battlefield momentum in Russia's favor
Blocking NATO membership and refusing security guarantees for Ukraine , signalling that territorial expansion can be rewarded rather than deterred
Blaming Kyiv for the war while downplaying Russia's responsibility and ignoring the indisputable reality that Russia invaded Ukraine, a stance that echoes Kremlin propaganda narratives
Criticising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for postponing elections under martial law, despite Ukraine's constitutional justification
Siding with Russia , North Korea and Belarus to vote against a UN resolution condemning Moscow's actions and supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity.

This approach mirrors historical examples of Western appeasement, from Neville Chamberlain's 1938 Munich Agreement to the weak enforcement of President Obama's“red line” in Syria in 2013. By preemptively offering concessions, Trump has weakened US leverage, removing any incentive for Putin to negotiate in good faith .

Unlike Western democracies, Putin's Russia operates on power dynamics rather than diplomatic courtesies. Trump's early giveaways – such as suggesting the recognition of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories – will therefore be seen in Moscow as a show of weakness, not goodwill. This weakens the US' leverage in negotiations and, by extension, that of its allies too.

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