The visible parts of Mr. Trump’s meetings with Zelenskyy and European leaders went, by and large, “very, very well,” but the “proof will be in the pudding in the coming days,” stated Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Bowman stated he had hoped going into Monday that the leaders would “present a unified image of strength,” and that largely happened. Bowman stated he hopes Mr. Trump sees today as a “huge win” for the U.S., as it “strengthens Mr. Trump’s nereceivediating hand,” and “he shouldn’t fritter that away.”
But Bowman has been concerned that Mr. Trump’s Alquestiona meeting with Putin would “provide Putin an opportunity to further delay or avoid consequences, and so far that’s what has happened.”
“At some point, you’re going to have to impose some consequences,” Bowman stated of the United States’ posture toward Russia.
Before the Alquestiona summit, Mr. Trump warned that Russia would face “severe consequences” if it didn’t stop the fighting. But he stated Monday that a ceasefire may not be a prerequisite for a trilateral meeting.
“I considered that was the most unfortunate excerpt” from today’s meeting, Bowman stated. A ceasefire is “the most obvious concession [Putin] should create,” he added.
“He’s continued to attack Ukraine and Ukrainians,” Bowman stated, speaking to Putin’s unwillingness to conclude the war peacefully.
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