WASHINGTON — In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has taken measures that strengthen Russia’s position and may rehabilitate Russian President Vladimir Putin’s soiled reputation in the international community.Trump returned to office vowing to swiftly end the Russia-Ukraine war, proclaiming last year that he was on “nobody’s side” except “humanity’s side.” But the neutral posture he said he has adopted is peeling away.A specific strategic goal underlies Trump’s overtures to Putin, foreign policy experts said.The idea is to entice him to come to the negotiating table and end a war that is now in its fifth year.
Whether it will work is another question.Trump’s lead negotiator in the Russia-Ukraine war, Steve Witkoff, called Putin “a humanitarian” in St.Petersburg on Wednesday upon the release of retired American teacher Stephen Hubbard, whom Russia had detained since 2022.
Even Republican lawmakers balked at the remark.00:43Witkoff thanks Putin for release of retired American teacher00:0000:00“I would describe Putin as a warmonger, a thug.He’s certainly not a humanitarian,” Sen.
Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is in a tough fight for re-election, said Wednesday.“He is the aggressor in the war against Ukraine,” she added at a campaign stop at a factory in Norway, Maine.Sen.
Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who isn’t running for re-election following public disagreements with Trump, was blunter.“WTF, Steve? Look up the definition of ‘humanitarian,’” he posted on social media.Freedom House, a nonprofit that works to expand freedom and democracy, describes Russia as an authoritarian country where power is “concentrated in the hands of President Vladimir Putin.” The Kremlin “manipulates elections and suppresses genuine dissent,” the group says.Trump tends to see diplomacy through the prism of personal relations, and he has made no secret of his regard for Putin.
When he hosted Putin for a summit meeting in Alaska last year in a ...