Tiring of empty talks with President Putin, US President Donald Trump announced that he had secured a deal with NATO to purchase weapons destined for Ukraine. Trump signaled a potential end to his fruitless attempts to pursue a constructive dialogue with Moscow by ramping up Western arms transfers to Kyiv and threatening severe economic retaliation against the Kremlin. Trump set Moscow a 50-day ultimatum to agree to a new security arrangement or face a 100% levy on Russian goods, alongside secondary tariffs on states that continue to buy Russian oil. When asked about 500% tariffs previously proposed, Trump argued that once a certain threshold is crossed, the specific percentage becomes largely symbolic. But while Trump’s change in position was hailed, the devil is in the details. Fifty days is a long time in war and a period that notably overlaps with the expected timeframe of Russia’s summer offensive, making any breakthrough in Kremlin strategy or on the front line during this period highly unlikely. Moscow’s immediate reaction was to shrug off Trump’s announcement.

The deadline also has the effect of delaying the passage through Congress of the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which would introduce some of the most far-reaching economic measures ever imposed on Moscow and enjoys bipartisan support in the Senate. The bill comes at a time when the United States has already tried all sorts of carrots with the Kremlin to no avail. Washington’s efforts at active diplomacy and softened rhetoric from the White House have fallen on deaf ears. This 50-day deadline could suffer the same fate.

The........

© The Frontier Post (Editorial)