According to the Kremlin, as of Monday, February 10th, United States and Russian relations are reaching their limit. The Kremlin refused to confirm if President Vladimir Putin had spoken with President Donald Trump, even though Trump claimed they spoke on Sunday. “Relations with Washington are balancing on the brink of a breakup,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in a media conference. Ryabkov mentioned that the war in Ukraine continues until Kyiv drops its intent to join NATO and withdraws from the four regions seized by Russian forces.
The comments from Trump and spokespeople for the Kremlin arrive at a crucial time for the war in Ukraine, with Kyiv and its European neighbors anxiously anticipating details of Trump’s peace plan to end the conflict that Russia launched with its invasion three years ago. Amid winning the election in November and being inaugurated last month, Trump announced that he planned to end the war in a single day when he took office.
In order to reach any sort of ceasefire agreement peace talks must be had between the two nations. “Talking through the details of how to end this war and that will mean getting both sides to the table.” said Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, to NBC News about the U.S. officials. He added that Trump would be prepared to tax, tariff, and sanction Moscow to get Putin to negotiate, while also removing assistance to Ukraine to force European allies to ramp up support to Ukraine.
