Trump's allies are in action, as per reports.
A New Tactics From Trump's Team Against Russia
The White House is preparing to put the squeeze on Moscow with additional sanctions, according to Bloomberg and Reuters. These sanctions are aimed at the banking and energy sectors, specifically state-owned Gazprom and other major Russian players. However, it's unsure if Trump will go ahead with this decision.
At the same time, the U.S. State Department has declared that they will step back from their mediation role in the Ukrainian conflict. They've stated that this decision might change if there's no progress. Washington is urging Russia and Ukraine to start direct talks. But internal conflicts within the administration could complicate the peace process according to Bloomberg. After a scandal involving a chat in the Signal messenger, Trump's national security advisor, Mike Waltz, was dismissed from his post.
Sergei Kozyrev, a political science professor at Drexel University, comments on this change. "Now, Marco Rubio is acting as the national security advisor. This means that a person who is quite skeptical about Russia will coordinate the information that Trump receives from the foreign policy bloc."
Trump has the power to exit the negotiating process, as there's no coordination within his administration. Different people can say whatever they want, and it's ultimately the president who decides U.S. foreign policy.
Vice President Jay D. Vance recently announced that the U.S. is giving Moscow and Kyiv 100 days to sit down for talks. Russia is ready for meetings with the Ukrainian delegation without preconditions. However, direct talks between Russia and Ukraine are not beneficial to Washington, according to Alexander Tverdoy-Burmuli, a political science candidate. Washington benefited from the mediator role, as they received certain bonuses from it.
The U.S. has already concluded a deal with Ukraine and offered Russia a certain deal, but if Trump suddenly declared that he was ready to withdraw from this deal now, it's not about profit. It's simply that one of the parties is not inclined to meet the arbitrator's position. The EU is preparing its 17th sanctions package and could signal sustained transatlantic pressure on Russia.
In other news, the RTS index fell below 1100 points for the first time since mid-April, and the Moscow Exchange index lost nearly 3% in a single day. On the night of May 1st, Washington and Kyiv signed an agreement on subsoil resources. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that this deal was the first outcome of his meeting with Trump in Vatican City. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin reported that the contract is seen as a signal to Russia in Washington. Moscow announced a three-day ceasefire to celebrate May 9th. Kyiv labeled the move a "manipulation" and responded by calling for a 60 or 90-day ceasefire.
Sources
- Bloomberg
- Reuters
- ABC News
- CNN
- New York Times
Partially based on enrichment data from iemexplore.org
- The White House is supposed to leverage additional sanctions against Moscow, targeting the banking and energy sectors, such as state-owned Gazprom.
- Despite the uncertainty surrounding Trump's decision, the U.S. State Department has supposed to step back from their mediation role in the Ukrainian conflict, urging Russia and Ukraine to start direct talks.
- Inside politics, Sergei Kozyrev, a political science professor at Drexel University, comments on the change in national security advisor, stating that Marco Rubio, who is quite skeptical about Russia, will coordinate the information that Trump receives from the foreign policy bloc.
- In general news, the U.S. has ready a 100-day window for Moscow and Kyiv to sit down for talks, but according to Alexander Tverdoy-Burmuli, direct talks between Russia and Ukraine are not beneficial to Washington as they received certain bonuses from their mediator role.
- In war-and-conflicts and policy-and-legislation news, the EU is ready to signal sustained transatlantic pressure on Russia with their 17th sanctions package, while Moscow has announced a three-day ceasefire to celebrate May 9th, a move that Kyiv has labeled a "manipulation."
