European leaders are reportedly trying to push President Donald Trump to pursue the same unsuccessful Biden-era playbook on Ukraine before his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
Heads of EU states — including U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Frederich Merz — have been pushing for Trump to institute new sanctions on Russia as Putin appears to be slow walking peace talks, according to the Financial Times. However, former President Joe Biden’s sanctions regime targeting Russia ultimately did little to stop Russian aggression, and some observers have argued that the trade restrictions ultimately strengthened Russia’s position by making it less reliant on Western trade.
“Imposing even tougher sanctions is a misguided tactic that would force Russia to choose between capitulation and continuing to fight, either one of which European hardliners would find acceptable,” George Beebe, director of grand strategy at the Quincy Institute, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The problem with this approach is that Russia won’t capitulate. Toughened sanctions would not come close to forcing Russian concessions.”
Despite the West’s attempt to cut off Russia’s oil industry with sanctions, the Russian energy sector has managed to stay afloat by selling large volumes of oil to India and China at discounted rates, according to a Bloomberg analysis of Argus Media data. Russian oil profits in 2024 were 50% greater than they were in 2023, according to Reuters.
Trump will make another call Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders after his chat with Putin. While Trump has so far been patient with Putin, the U.S. president’s patience seems to be running out as he pushes the Russian leader to come to the table.
Trump has also been impatient with Zelenskyy, saying in a Saturday interview with Fox News that the Ukrainian leader had “pissed away” U.S. aid. Since the war started in 2022, America has given the Eastern European state $66.5 billion in aid, according to the State Department.
Additionally, Trump secured a landmark minerals deal with Ukraine in April, which would allow the U.S. to take a portion of profits from mining operations in exchange for investment in Ukrainian infrastructure.
The Russian Foreign Ministry and the State Department did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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