Russia’s charm offensive on Trump leaves Europe scrambling to win him back
2025-12-11 11:21:36
US President Donald Trump welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska, US
Contributor | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Russia appears to be enjoying the discomfort felt in Europe and Ukraine after a week of vocal criticism from both the White House and US President Donald Trump.
The growing division has led the Kremlin and Russian state media to lead a charm offensive praising Moscow’s “alliance” with Washington.
Russia watched as Washington appeared to pour cold water on its alliances with Ukraine and Europe over the past week.
It started when the White House last Friday released its new national security strategy that questioned whether Europe could remain a “reliable ally” and said the United States must restore strategic stability with Russia.
Then Trump said this week unguarded Interview with Politico And that Europe was a “deteriorating” region with “weak” leaders. The president also backed new elections in Ukraine, saying they appear increasingly undemocratic.
Separately, Trump also criticized Ukraine’s approach to peace talks, claiming earlier this week that President Volodymyr Zelensky I have not even read the draft of the American peace proposal to end the warWhile Trump said that Russia is “okay.”
Attack magic
For Russia, that meant launching a charm offensive to praise Trump and reinforce the sense that Washington and Moscow are on the same page on how to end the nearly four-year-old war. This opportunity has grown amid Trump’s open frustration with Ukraine and Europe’s leadership.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed on Wednesday that Russia appreciates Trump’s “desire for dialogue and resolution of the conflict in Ukraine” and that the two sides share a “fundamental understanding that a permanent settlement is impossible without eliminating the root causes of the crisis.”
For Russia, these “root causes” of the war include NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe, pro-Western leadership in Ukraine, and the desire to occupy the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists had Russia’s support long before the current war began in 2022.
A trader watches US President Donald Trump greet Russian President Vladimir Putin, as they meet to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, US, August 15, 2025.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
So any US-backed peace plan that eliminates some of these concerns – handing over the Donbass region to Russia and ruling out Ukraine’s succession to NATO – as well as an agreement that forces leadership elections in Ukraine, is music to Russia’s ears.
This is largely why Moscow is so keen on an alliance with Trump and the “original” US-backed peace plan that was drawn up with its input and without Ukraine’s involvement.
Battle over Trump
Meanwhile, Ukraine and its European allies are desperately trying to keep Washington on their side in order to prevent the potential loss of territory and sovereignty to Ukraine in a peace deal that could be imposed on Kiev, which could have far-reaching consequences for Europe’s future security.
European leaders, left on the sidelines, are trying to boost Ukraine’s chances of getting a good deal, with Zelensky holding a series of meetings with regional leaders this week in an attempt to strengthen arguments in favor of Kiev’s “red lines” in any peace agreement, especially since Kiev receives security guarantees as part of the peace agreement, and that it does not have to cede territory to Russia.
Demonstrating its willingness to compromise, Ukraine has publicly acknowledged that future membership in NATO is a very slim possibility, and Zelensky has said he is ready for the country to hold new elections if they can be held in a safe manner. But security and regional guarantees remain major sticking points and an obstacle to any agreement with Russia.
US President Donald Trump (L) greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky outside the West Wing of the White House on October 17, 2025, in Washington, DC.
Wayne McNamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Ukraine and European leaders said Wednesday that “intensive work” would continue to reach an effective long-term peace plan. The leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany spoke with Trump yesterday about their efforts, and reaffirmed their willingness to provide security guarantees to Ukraine as part of post-war peacekeeping efforts. Russia rejects this idea, saying that foreign forces in Ukraine would be “legitimate targets.”
However, a meeting of the so-called “coalition of the willing” is being held on Thursday, with allies keen to maintain momentum and clarity when it comes to reaching a solution to end the conflict that is in the interests of Ukraine and the wider region.
Keen not to be outdone, Lavrov said Thursday that Moscow had sent the United States its own proposals regarding security guarantees, and that Europe’s “anti-Russian” efforts had failed.
He added, “We insist on reaching a package of agreements on a strong, sustainable and long-term peace with security guarantees for all countries concerned.” Lavrov said, in statements reported by RIA Novosti.
“they [Europeans] They wanted to inflict a strategic defeat on us, after which they could dictate Western terms on issues of concern to European capitals. But the anti-Russian blitzkrieg plan using Ukraine failed.”
Washington is reportedly urging the two sides to reach an agreement before Christmas, but there are doubts the deadline can be met.
“US pressure will push the talks forward but will not lead to a quick agreement,” Eurasia Group analysts said in a note on Wednesday.
“The peace plan put forward by the United States could serve as a loose framework for reaching a final agreement,” they noted. “But Ukraine, with European support, will continue to resist major concessions on territory and neutrality. Moscow is also likely to reject any agreement that Ukraine can accept.” addition:
“Demanding the United States to reach an agreement by Thanksgiving, and now, as they say, Christmas, could gain gradual movement by one side or the other. But it is unlikely to guarantee a major breakthrough in the near term.”
In fact, while the Eurasia Group expects the odds of a ceasefire to increase, and has reduced the probability of the baseline “continuation of war” scenario from 75% to 65% between now and the end of June 2026, it has also noted that the challenges Ukraine faces on the battlefield, coupled with increasing pressure from the United States, have also increased the probability of the “Ukraine surrender” scenario from 5% to 25%.
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