U.S. President Donald Trump is “giving away his cards” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment via email outside business hours.
Why It Matters
Last month, the U.S. and Russia began talks on ending the war in Ukraine, which European countries have criticized, accusing Washington of sidelining Kyiv and making concessions to Moscow.
McFaul has said that if Trump gives away his “cards” and makes concessions to Putin, there will be significant ramifications on the U.S.’s security interests globally, and other world leaders may try to annex additional territory.
Misha Japaridze/Associated Press
What To Know
In a U.S. News & World Report commentary published on Monday, McFaul, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, wrote about his experience negotiating with Moscow and his views of Trump’s attempts to conduct peace talks with Putin.
“I can tell you that our president is going about this the wrong way; he is giving away his ‘cards,’ to use Trump’s favored metaphor, up front,” McFaul wrote, adding, “Trump seems to be viewing the entire war through Putin’s distorted lens.”
On February 18, Trump told reporters that Ukraine “should have never started” the war. The following day, he described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on social media as a “dictator without elections.”
In his commentary, McFaul said: “The only way to get a real peace deal would be to convince Putin that he cannot conquer any more territory. That would entail the U.S. and our European partners giving Ukraine more weapons to create a stalemate on the battlefield.”
He added, “Trump, however, has signaled the opposite.” On Monday, Trump ordered a pause on all military aid to Ukraine.
McFaul continued: “Serious diplomacy involves trades, concessions from all sides and a commitment to the idea that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. And in any peace talks, a mediator tries to create the impression of neutrality.”
On Friday, Trump and Zelensky held a meeting at the White House, which erupted into an argument as they discussed a Ukraine ceasefire deal and security guarantees from the U.S.
The U.S. president told his Ukrainian counterpart, “I have empowered you to be a tough guy … You either make a deal, or we’re out.” He added, “You don’t have the cards.”
As members of the media were present, Trump said the proceedings were “going to be great television.”
McFaul wrote: “Real diplomacy is done behind closed doors, not through social media or with cameras rolling. Yet, before serious negotiations even began, Trump and his team had already given away all of their best cards.” He referenced the concessions Trump and other U.S. officials have said Ukraine must make, including abandoning its goal of joining NATO.
McFaul said Putin could not be trusted, calling the Russian president a “cynical strongman whose priorities and policies are antithetical to American values and interests.”
“No matter how much U.S.-Russian relations might be repaired or restarted, there is no universe in which Putin is a U.S. ally or trustworthy partner,” he added.
What People Are Saying
U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday: “The only President who gave none of Ukraine’s land to Putin’s Russia is President Donald J. Trump. Remember that when the weak and ineffective Democrat’s criticize, and the Fake News gladly puts out anything they say!”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “The basic scenario is to maintain positions and create conditions for proper diplomacy to achieve the swiftest possible end to this war with a just peace. We need peace, true and honest peace—not endless war. And security guarantees are essential.
“The absence of security guarantees for Ukraine 11 years ago allowed Russia to start with the occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbas. Later, the absence of security guarantees allows Russia to launch a full-scale invasion, and now, due to the lack of clear security guarantees, Russia continues to fuel this war. The world sees this, and the world acknowledges it. Today, we continued our work with European partners on a special diplomatic and security architecture that can bring us closer to peace.”
Carl Bildt, a co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, wrote on X in February: “It’s certainly an innovative approach to a negotiation to make very major concessions even before they have started.”
Helen Clark, a former prime minister of New Zealand, responded to Bildt’s post: “Trump Administration has given away its cards before talks on war in #Ukraine begin: no to #NATO membership; no to US troops playing any role; in effect ceding territory occupied to Russia; & even saying Ukraine could be part of Russia one day. Extraordinary.”
What Happens Next
On February 22, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said preparations were underway for Putin and Trump to meet, without specifying a date or time.
Following his meeting with Zelensky, Trump said the Ukrainian president could return to the White House when he is “ready for peace.”
