In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has taken measures that strengthen Russia’s position and may rehabilitate Russian President Vladimir Putin’s soiled reputation in the international community.
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that → take → community
Trump returned to office vowing to swiftly end the Russia-Ukraine war, proclaiming last year that he was on “nobody’s side” except “humanity’s side.”
asserted
he → return → side
But the neutral posture he said he has adopted is peeling away.
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he → say → ?
A specific strategic goal underlies Trump’s overtures to Putin, foreign policy experts said.
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experts → underlie → Putin
The idea is to entice him to come to the negotiating table and end a war that is now in its fifth year.
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that → entice → year
Whether it will work is another question.
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work → work → ?
Trump’s lead negotiator in the Russia-Ukraine war, Steve Witkoff, called Putin “a humanitarian” in St. Petersburg on Wednesday upon the release of retired American teacher Stephen Hubbard, whom Russia had detained since 2022.
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Russia → call → 2022
Even Republican lawmakers balked at the remark.
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lawmakers → balk → remark
Witkoff thanks Putin for release of retired American teacher
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Witkoff → thank → teacher
“I would describe Putin as a warmonger, a thug.
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I → describe → warmonger
He’s certainly not a humanitarian,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is in a tough fight for re-election, said Wednesday.
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who → ’ → election
“He is the aggressor in the war against Ukraine,” she added at a campaign stop at a factory in Norway, Maine.
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she → add → Norway
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who isn’t running for re-election following public disagreements with Trump, was blunter.
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who → run → Trump
Look up the definition of ‘humanitarian,’” he posted on social media.
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he → look → media
Freedom House, a nonprofit that works to expand freedom and democracy, describes Russia as an authoritarian country where power is “concentrated in the hands of President Vladimir Putin.”
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power → work → Putin
The Kremlin “manipulates elections and suppresses genuine dissent,” the group says.
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group → manipulates → dissent
Trump tends to see diplomacy through the prism of personal relations, and he has made no secret of his regard for Putin.
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he → tend → Putin
When he hosted Putin for a summit meeting in Alaska last year in a futile attempt to end the war, the U.S. rolled out a red carpet.
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U.S. → host → carpet
A picture of Trump and Putin standing side by side hangs in the White House’s Palm Room.
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picture → stand → Room
By contrast, Trump has stepped up his on-again, off-again criticism of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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Trump → step → president
As he left the White House on Monday for a campaign trip, he said Zelenskyy “is a man that should have had this war settled a long time ago.
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war → leave → trip
I think it’s time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.”
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somebody → think → Ukraine
Blandishments are a tool Trump is using to get Putin to strike a deal, said Robert O’Brien, who was White House national security adviser in Trump’s first term.
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who → use → term
Not much else has worked.
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much → work → ?
“We thought we could get the war settled two years ago, but Putin has been intractable in not coming to the table.
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Putin → think → table
President Trump is using cordiality to get Putin to negotiate,” O’Brien said in an interview.
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O’Brien → use → interview
“There’d be no hope of getting Putin to engage in talks, with the U.S. as the mediator, if he viewed Trump as 100% aligned with Ukraine in this situation,” he added.
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he → get → situation
Michael Kimmage, a foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution think tank, said the Trump administration’s “theory of the case is that by distancing themselves from Ukraine and by flattering the Russians, they can accomplish something at the bargaining table.
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they → say → table
He doesn’t expect the gambit to succeed, though.
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gambit → expect → ?
“In the absence of a clear agenda coming from the White House and in the absence of very serious forms of leverage over Russia — which the Trump administration has shied away from — progress at the negotiating table is very difficult to imagine,” he said.
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he → come → table
Asked about Trump’s warmer attitude toward Putin in recent weeks, the White House pointed to his comments at a roundtable on cybercrime when he was asked about Witkoff labeling the Russian leader “a humanitarian.”
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Witkoff → ask → leader
Trump responded: “I guess you could say for that particular purpose — for the purpose of allowing a man who was thinking he was going to be in prison for life out.”
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he → respond → life
He went on to add that the U.S. is negotiating with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and was complimentary towards Russia for having “not gotten involved with Iran.”
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U.S. → go → Iran
Trump said that some “stupid people” were critical of his position and “the last thing I want to do is upset an apple cart where we’re getting close to settling a war.”
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we → say → war
Ending the war between Russia and Ukraine was one of Trump’s signature promises in the 2024 campaign.
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Ending → end → campaign
He had confidently predicted he’d get it done on his first day back in office, but he has since conceded that the problem is more stubborn than he’d envisioned.
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he → predict → office
As Trump works to broker a peace deal, one of his recent gestures to Putin is to treat him as a statesman, rather than a global outcast.
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one → work → statesman
Trump thanked Putin on Oct. 9 after they reached a deal in which Russia agreed to release hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel fuel into global markets.
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Russia → thank → markets
Trump said the move would ease energy costs, but relief at the pump hasn’t happened yet.
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relief → say → pump
Since then, the average price of a gallon of diesel has risen 4 cents a gallon, from $6.26 to $6.30.
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price → rise → 6.30
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
