Donald Trump reaffirms support for Putin amid ongoing rift with allies

Business Standard

5 hours ago

By Erica L. Green and Zolan Kanno-Youngs
President Trump could have opened by talking about trade. He could have discussed the wars in the Middle East or the long-running, brutal war in Ukraine.
But there was something else that appeared to be top of mind for Mr Trump during Monday's meeting in Canada of the leaders of the Group of 7 industrialized nations: President Vladimir Putin of Russia.
'The G7 used to be the G8,' Mr Trump told reporters, referring to the group's decision to eject Russia in 2014, after it attacked Ukraine and 'annexed' Crimea, a prelude to its full-scale invasion.
He went on to blame former President Barack Obama and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada for kicking Russia out, and argued that its inclusion in the group would have averted the war in Ukraine. (Mr Trump was wrong — it was not Mr Trudeau, but rather Stephen Harper, who was the Canadian prime minister at the time of Russia's expulsion.)
And with that, Mr Trump's troubled history with the alliance repeated itself. When he attended the summit the last time it was held in Canada, in 2018, he called for Russia to be readmitted to alliance. The suggestion angered and appalled allies, setting of a rift that before Mr Trump left the summit early, telling reporters on his way out: 'They should let Russia come back in. Because we should have Russia at the negotiating table.'
Mr Trump's remarks came one day before he was supposed to meet in Canada with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, whom Mr Trump has repeatedly criticized for the invasion of his country and has even accused of not wanting the war to end.
The White House announced on Monday that Mr Trump would leave the summit early and return to Washington to deal with the war between Israel and Iran. In a recent interview, Mr Trump said he was open to having Mr Putin serve as a mediator in the Middle East conflict.
Mr Trump's argument on Monday was even more remarkable given that he returned to the summit three years after Russia escalated the aggression that got it ejected in the first place — launching an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with similar goals of seizing its territory.
The scene on Monday illustrated how even more aligned Mr Trump has grown with the Russian autocrat since his first time in office, and how alienated Mr Trump has become from American allies who have rallied around Ukraine.
Asked about Mr Trump's decision to open his remarks at the summit by criticizing Mr Putin's expulsion from the bloc, a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said Mr Trump had long held that view and would share his opinion even if he were meeting with global leaders who feel differently.
Mr Trump, in his remarks on Monday, repeated a claim he made in 2018, that the Group of 7 needed Mr Putin to help solve some of the world's problems — including ones the Russian leader himself caused. 'You spend so much time talking about Russia, and he's no longer at the table,' Mr Trump said.
John Bolton, Mr Trump's former national security adviser, said Mr Trump's multiple calls for Russia to rejoin the alliance indicated his lack of knowledge about the history of the bloc. Mr Bolton accompanied Mr Trump to the 2018 summit, where a memorable photo emerged of Mr Trump seated across from other world leaders with his arms folded in defiance.
'Never seemed to understand that Russia had been kicked out of the G8 for invading Ukraine,' Mr Bolton said. He said Mr Trump also could not comprehend that the partnership 'was a group of like-minded industrial democracies. Apparently, still doesn't understand.'
'Putin speaks to me; he doesn't speak to anybody else,' Mr Trump said, 'because he was very insulted when he got thrown out at the G8, as I would be, as you would be, as anybody would be.'
Mr Trump has spoken with Mr Putin regularly, as recently as Saturday, when he said that the Russian leader had called him to wish him a 'Happy Birthday' and spent more time discussing the Iranian-Israeli conflict than the war he started.
'Our G7 partners are likely to conclude that Trump may be more interested in rehabilitating Putin rather than joining the consensus supporting Ukraine,' said Daniel M. Price, who worked on international trade and investment during the Bush administration.
Mr Trump's embrace — and sometimes outright defense — of Mr Putin in his second term has thus far done little to quell the war, which he claimed on the campaign trail he could end in one day. He has also acknowledged that Mr Putin may be taking advantage of him by dragging out the war.
As Russia has escalated its incursion into Ukraine, Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened tariffs against Russia, though he has yet to follow through.
At the same time, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, along with other European leaders, was expected to use the summit to announce another sanctions package against Russia. Mr Starmer said in a statement that he wanted to 'work with all of our G7 partners to squeeze Russia's energy revenues and reduce the funds they are able to pour into their illegal war.'
Asked after a meeting with Mr Starmer on Monday if the United States would join Europe in applying further sanctions, Mr Trump downplayed the measure.
'Well, Europe is saying that, but they haven't done it yet,' he said. 'Let's see them do it first.'
Mr Trump said he was still waiting to see if a cease-fire deal could be made, adding that sanctions would also be costly for the United States. 'It's not just, let's sign a document,' he said. 'You're talking about billions and billions of dollars. Sanctions are not that easy. It's not just a one-way street.'
Mr Trump, in recent months, has also indicated that he wants to all but wash his hands of the war in Ukraine, having grown frustrated by the lack of progress in negotiating a peace deal.
Experts said that Mr Trump's comments on Monday about welcoming Russia back into the fold of leading industrialized countries made clear his shifting goal post for the war.
'To make that particular point I think cuts to the core of the recent most successful actions the G7 has taken,' said Josh Lipsky, the senior director for the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center. 'It puts the summit in a G6 plus one dynamic right off the bat.'