() President Trump could use Russia’s struggling economy as leverage against President Vladimir Putin, according to the former ambassador to Ukraine, Bill Taylor.
He joined ” Now” in the hours following Trump’s two-hour call with Putin. The president said via Truth Social that Russia wants large-scale trade with the U.S. and would negotiate for a ceasefire.
“President Trump does have leverage over Putin, and it’s clear that President Putin knows that, and trade is one of them,” Taylor said.
“I’m sure that President Putin knows how weak his economy is, how important it is, and that gives President Trump the ability to put pressure on President Putin.”
Ending the war in Ukraine was something Trump repeatedly promised to do on the campaign trail, the president boasting that he could even end the war before he took office.
“People in the administration tell me that this is their top foreign policy priority,” Taylor added. “We see the president of the United States spending a lot of time, the vice president, the national security adviser, secretary of state, they spent a lot of time on this. Walking away is not an option.”
