WASHINGTON, May 30. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump is unwilling to put pressure on Moscow to resolve the Ukraine conflict because he is mostly interested in resetting relations with Russia, Politico reports, citing a European official granted anonymity.
"It’s very clear there is something holding him (Trump - TASS) back from actually putting more pressure on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," the official said, adding: "He may want the reset with Russia most of all, more than peace. If he just wants to get the war ended so he can do these deals [with Putin], then he may be weighing the cost of poisoning their potential relationship."
The media outlet points out that the US president "is wary of greenlighting a secondary sanctions bill backed by a bipartisan Senate majority, <...> nervous about foreclosing any future resetting of the US-Russia relationship."
On May 19, Putin and Trump held a telephone conversation, their third since the beginning of the year. They discussed bilateral relations and ways to settle the Ukraine conflict, including the idea of Moscow and Kiev preparing memorandums to clarify their terms for a ceasefire. Prior to that, the leaders of Russia and the US spoke over the phone on February 12 and 18, touching upon efforts to normalize relations between Moscow and Washington and various aspects of resolving the Ukraine issue.