Putin will string Trump along until autumn — Ukrainian political analyst

This view was shared by political scientist Serhiy Taran on the air of Espreso TV. 

“I think this whole thing (Putin fooling Trump – ed.) will go on until around fall. Then comes a new stage in U.S. politics, because preparations for the midterm elections will begin. Trump’s team will need something to show the American public. And they’re not as hooked on flattery as Trump is. They’ll expect clear steps and real results, but there won’t be any. To show something tangible, Trump will have to change tactics. He won’t be able to offer Russia anything new in terms of business or deals, that’s obvious. So he’ll need to try a different approach, because what he’s doing now brings nothing. Plus, people around Trump include Republicans who still stick to Reagan’s stance on Russia. They’re also baffled by Trump’s attitude and are openly hinting that something needs to change,” Taran said.

Taran added that Russia has so far managed to hold Trump back from imposing new sanctions by acting "peaceful", the usual Putin playbook of saying one thing and doing another. But that won’t work forever, there are no results.

“And another strong ally of ours in the U.S. is public opinion, journalists keep asking Trump: ‘Look, Putin is bombing Ukraine, and you’re not doing anything.’ Trump usually says something like, ‘I’ll call Putin again,’ but that won’t cut it for long. The American public will want answers. I also think that in the fall, Putin himself might start talking. If he says anything about the peace, it’ll be after his so-called summer offensive. He was hoping for major gains this summer. But we believe none of his plans will work out. I think by fall, there’ll be not just a window but a whole apartment of opportunities for real peace talks,” the political scientist added.

• On June 29, it was reported that U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham got Donald Trump’s approval to impose sanctions on Russian oil exports, which mainly go to India and China.