Zürcher Nachrichten - Russia suggests Trump is emboldening Ukraine, delaying peace

EUR -
AED 4.21439
AFN 78.96923
ALL 97.002299
AMD 440.41102
ANG 2.053468
AOA 1052.148757
ARS 1483.525525
AUD 1.7775
AWG 2.068155
AZN 1.944047
BAM 1.945417
BBD 2.317631
BDT 140.728931
BGN 1.952373
BHD 0.432531
BIF 3421.767868
BMD 1.147381
BND 1.479802
BOB 7.931737
BRL 6.434396
BSD 1.147874
BTN 100.332401
BWP 15.516325
BYN 3.756452
BYR 22488.676072
BZD 2.305715
CAD 1.585285
CDF 3315.932125
CHF 0.930642
CLF 0.028202
CLP 1106.443343
CNY 8.234642
CNH 8.265495
COP 4775.057307
CRC 580.307958
CUC 1.147381
CUP 30.405608
CVE 109.67964
CZK 24.603182
DJF 204.400895
DKK 7.460641
DOP 69.946695
DZD 149.926599
EGP 55.866922
ERN 17.210721
ETB 159.242512
FJD 2.598932
FKP 0.860213
GBP 0.863812
GEL 3.098007
GGP 0.860213
GHS 12.052779
GIP 0.860213
GMD 82.611926
GNF 9957.854988
GTQ 8.806997
GYD 240.150412
HKD 9.006852
HNL 30.190872
HRK 7.53095
HTG 150.626109
HUF 399.829162
IDR 18878.268288
ILS 3.874587
IMP 0.860213
INR 100.635223
IQD 1503.674896
IRR 48319.103379
ISK 142.206528
JEP 0.860213
JMD 183.671348
JOD 0.813495
JPY 170.986798
KES 148.299187
KGS 100.339197
KHR 4597.503223
KMF 489.362702
KPW 1032.547548
KRW 1597.028608
KWD 0.350812
KYD 0.956603
KZT 623.985233
LAK 24775.986644
LBP 102847.002532
LKR 346.789188
LRD 230.146723
LSL 20.512525
LTL 3.387919
LVL 0.69404
LYD 6.243732
MAD 10.435994
MDL 19.582658
MGA 5066.006905
MKD 61.234526
MMK 2408.242075
MNT 4119.655085
MOP 9.281368
MRU 45.81051
MUR 52.527541
MVR 17.669563
MWK 1990.394623
MXN 21.576162
MYR 4.864585
MZN 73.386189
NAD 20.512525
NGN 1759.7614
NIO 42.244541
NOK 11.784038
NPR 160.530251
NZD 1.940262
OMR 0.441181
PAB 1.147884
PEN 4.07714
PGK 4.750687
PHP 66.350764
PKR 325.813436
PLN 4.271695
PYG 8597.117237
QAR 4.174123
RON 5.073029
RSD 117.191206
RUB 92.801317
RWF 1659.756356
SAR 4.304048
SBD 9.4592
SCR 16.847715
SDG 689.00551
SEK 11.169374
SGD 1.484586
SHP 0.901662
SLE 26.389512
SLL 24060.019472
SOS 655.998938
SRD 42.074254
STD 23748.479093
STN 24.370149
SVC 10.043398
SYP 14918.195267
SZL 20.501761
THB 37.472308
TJS 10.973431
TMT 4.027309
TND 3.385929
TOP 2.687276
TRY 46.566127
TTD 7.789495
TWD 34.187378
TZS 2948.770222
UAH 47.921461
UGX 4115.127254
USD 1.147381
UYU 45.934846
UZS 14348.422556
VES 140.769073
VND 30064.261978
VUV 137.084416
WST 3.163463
XAF 652.480403
XAG 0.030475
XAU 0.000348
XCD 3.100855
XCG 2.06866
XDR 0.795605
XOF 652.474746
XPF 119.331742
YER 276.117096
ZAR 20.609701
ZMK 10327.813215
ZMW 26.371485
ZWL 369.456353
  • BCC

    0.3200

    86.46

    +0.37%

  • SCU

    0.0000

    12.72

    0%

  • CMSC

    0.0750

    22.685

    +0.33%

  • AZN

    2.2650

    76.245

    +2.97%

  • BCE

    -0.1250

    23.535

    -0.53%

  • RIO

    -1.7900

    60.48

    -2.96%

  • SCS

    0.0900

    10.6

    +0.85%

  • NGG

    0.0600

    70.58

    +0.09%

  • GSK

    1.2950

    38.965

    +3.32%

  • JRI

    0.0400

    13.1

    +0.31%

  • CMSD

    -0.0400

    23.08

    -0.17%

  • RYCEF

    -0.2400

    13.14

    -1.83%

  • VOD

    -0.0250

    11.085

    -0.23%

  • BTI

    0.3550

    53.125

    +0.67%

  • RELX

    -0.0900

    51.83

    -0.17%

  • BP

    -0.5800

    32.38

    -1.79%

  • RBGPF

    -3.5200

    74.03

    -4.75%

Russia suggests Trump is emboldening Ukraine, delaying peace
Russia suggests Trump is emboldening Ukraine, delaying peace / Photo: OLEKSII FILIPPOV - AFP

Russia suggests Trump is emboldening Ukraine, delaying peace

The Kremlin warned Tuesday that US President Donald Trump's pledge of more weapons for Kyiv and threat of sanctions targeting Russian trading partners could embolden Ukraine and further delay already stalled peace efforts.

Text size:

Trump a day earlier gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal with Ukraine, voicing fresh frustration with Moscow as he laid out an arrangement with NATO to supply Kyiv with new military aid sponsored by the alliance's members.

The Republican forced Moscow and Kyiv to open peace talks to end the conflict, now in its fourth year, but Russia has rejected calls for a ceasefire and launched a record number of drones and missiles at Ukraine in recent months.

Moscow said it needed more time to respond fully to Trump's statement, but hinted it did not appear conducive to successful negotiations.

"It seems that such a decision made in Washington and in NATO countries and directly in Brussels will be perceived by Kyiv not as a signal for peace but for the continuation of the war," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"President Trump's statement is very serious. We certainly need time to analyse what was said in Washington," he told reporters in Moscow's first reaction to the comments.

Trump warned that if no deal was concluded, he would slap severe tariffs on Russia's remaining trade partners in a bid to impede Moscow's ability to finance its military offensive.

Pumped up by huge state spending on soldiers and weapons, as well as by redirecting vital energy exports to the likes of China and India, Russia's economy has so far defied Western hopes sanctions would push it into a deep recession.

- Weapons deal -

Two rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine, held in Turkey in recent months, have made no progress towards ending the fighting and yielded only large-scale prisoner exchanges.

Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia launched its offensive, with millions forced to flee their homes in eastern and southern Ukraine, which has been decimated by aerial attacks and ground assaults.

Putin has repeatedly rejected calls for a ceasefire and his negotiators have demanded Ukraine shun all Western military support, and pull out of four regions in its east and south that Moscow claims to have annexed.

Kyiv and the West have rejected them as a call for Ukraine's de-facto capitulation.

Peskov said Russia was open to another round of talks and was "waiting for proposals from the Ukrainian side on the timing."

Kyiv has called it "pointless" to hold further talks with the current Russian delegation.

Denmark and the Netherlands on Tuesday said they were looking to participate in Trump's plan for Europe to buy American weapons for Ukraine.

Under the scheme, some of NATO's European members would pay Washington for the weapons, including vital Patriot air defence systems, which would then be shipped to Ukraine.

The United States has been Kyiv's most important military backer since Russia launched its offensive in 2022, but Trump's erratic policy on whether to support Ukraine and his attempts to engage Putin have spooked Europe and Kyiv.

- 'Game of chess' -

In Moscow, residents dismissed Trump's statement as little more than politics.

"It's a game of chess," Svetlana, an aviation engineer said.

"There will still be negotiations... (Trump) gave 50 days, and then there will be more... We are waiting for the next move of our president," the 47-year-old said.

Russia has pummelled Ukrainian cities with regular aerial attacks in recent weeks as its troops advance slowly across the battlefield in the east and south.

Ukrainian soldiers fighting in the east were hopeful but cautious following Trump's promise of air defences and weapons.

"I don't believe him. There have been too many promises that haven't been kept," said one soldier with the call-sign "Shah."

Others were worried it might be too little too late.

"Of course it's good, but at the same time, time has been lost. Those Patriots could have been sent sooner and could have helped a lot," another fighter called "Master" told AFP.

"If there is even the slightest chance to improve the situation for us and worsen it for them, then that's already positive," Ruslan, a 29-year-old soldier, said.

F.E.Ackermann--NZN