President Donald Trump’s efforts to achieve a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine appear to have come to a standstill. His tone toward Moscow has become increasingly testy as the Kremlin ups its missile strikes on Ukraine rather than seeking a genuine ceasefire. Indeed, Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking at a Munich Leaders Conference in Washington on Thursday, indicated that he had “not yet” given up hope but observed that he thought that Russia was “asking for too much.”

But the very obstacles to reaching an accommodation—namely, Russia’s desire to crush Ukraine as a sovereign nation—may be prompting Trump to embark upon a more conciliatory path when it comes to tariffs and the Middle East. Until now, Trump, for all his vaunted prowess at cutting deals, has been the Mr. Micawber of American presidents, operating on the credo that “something will turn up.”

With the announcement of his tariff deal with the United Kingdom, however, Trump can present, or at........

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