Trump and Xi could push Putin toward truce, says journalist Portnykov

Journalist Vitalii Portnykov said this on air with Espreso TV.

“If Trump and Xi agree that there should be some kind of ceasefire, they both have leverage. Trump has Tomahawk missiles, while Xi has the ability to buy or not buy Russian oil, and to supply or withhold components for Russia. Their joint efforts may not bring a global breakthrough, but they could lead to a truce,” Portnykov noted.

According to him, both the Chinese and U.S. leaders have the means to influence the situation together.

“Of course, it’s a whole story — how this would actually look in practice. I wouldn’t say that Putin can simply ignore the joint efforts of Trump and Xi Jinping. Still, they would need to reach an agreement between themselves and actually meet. We don’t even know if that meeting will happen,” the journalist concluded.