Trump lacks economic tools to force Putin to end war quickly — journalist

This was said by journalist Vitaly Portnikov on Espreso TV.

“Obviously, Putin has a plan for the possibility of peace talks while continuing military operations. This plan doesn’t satisfy Donald Trump because he understands perfectly well that those talks won’t lead anywhere. However, Trump doesn’t know what to do to counter this Putin strategy,” Portnikov explained.

According to the journalist, the U.S. has economic pressure tools to use against Russia in the long term.

“Trump simply doesn’t have any real tools to pressure Putin. That’s important to understand. The U.S. president doesn’t have economic tools that could force Putin to quickly end the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump was elected president, not a magician. If President Joe Biden had such tools, he would use them—but they simply don’t exist. There are economic pressure tools that could work over the course of the 20th or 30th years of the 21st century and force Russia to reconsider its development priorities in terms of war and peace. But that’s not a quick path. By the way, that path could mean Trump is no longer president while the war continues,” he added.

• Trump and Putin use each other to their advantage and gain the "victories" they need through this cooperation.