Europe fears that Trump prepares to move away from Ukraine’s conversations

European and Ukrainian officials fear that Donald Trump will be on the shores away from peace negotiations with Kiev and Moscow, using potential minor progress in conversations as “excuse” to say that their job is done, according to people who reported on discussions.

The President of the United States was elected by a promise to end the war in “ 24 hours ”, but his openings in Vladimir Putin from Russia and attempts to strongly arm Ukrainian leadership have failed to gain support for their initial proposal of 30 -day fire, much less lasting.

Following talks with the United States in recent days, European and Ukrainian officials are convinced that Trump is ready to seize any kind of advance this week, which marks their first 100 days in office, even if a long-term solution remained, they said four officials in The Financial Times.

A European official said that Trump was “establishing a situation where excuses to move away and leave him in Ukraine and the United States (Europe) to fix.”

Putin’s desire to accept American and Ukrainian demands, such as maintaining a post-war Ukrainian military force and the complexity of the conflict, has led Trump to re-evaluate his commitment to a peace agreement.

On Sunday, Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of the United States, this week called “Criticism” for talks and said that Washington is not willing to drag -in extended negotiation.

Russian President offered a three -day fire on Monday during the holidays from May 8 to 10, when Russia celebrates the Soviet victory in World War II, but has not been able to keep his commitment before pausing hostilities on Holy Week and Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

North -American officials were “worried that they really returned with anything in the conversations with Russia” and began to float ideas for an agreement that could fit Trump’s quick line of time, according to a person’s discussion.

But Trump’s push to end the war quickly has taken place against Putin’s intransigence to accept the terms that are not abandoned from his maximalist demands, such as Ukraine “Desnazifier”.

“There are people who think that the Russians could continue” with Trump’s proposal, said the person, who added that the problem was that there was “nothing in the place to do this job.” “Some of the elements are really good, but it’s the impatience to doing -now is the problem.”

Trump over the weekend praised his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he met on Saturday in the Vatican where they attended the Pope Francis funeral. He also criticized Putin, saying he was “surprised and disappointed” by the attacks of Russian missiles in the Ukrainian cities.

But some Ukrainian officials told the FT that they were afraid that the President of the United States would leave, with a senior official who said he saw it as a “serious possibility”.

However, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said that the meeting was “constructive and good.”

Following a public spit between Trump and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in February, Ukrainian officials said that they experienced Whiplash after positive encounters, only to have this sensation when their north -Americans return to Washington.

Kyiv was initially animated by a Trump place on his true social platform shortly after the Vatican meeting in which he threatened Russia with new sanctions to reach the negotiation table.

But a day later, Trump Rubio’s Secretary of State, he dumped cold water into the idea of ​​more commercial restrictions, which he said would extend the war.

“This week it will be a really important week in which we have to determine if it is an effort in which we want to continue to involve -,” Rubio told NBC.

Tykhyi rejected these comments, saying that Kiev sees them “as part of the communications strategy.” “Obviously, the United States at this time, as a mediator, are trying to advance the sides (of Ukraine and Russia) to achieve peace and this is how we read these statements,” he said.

On Monday, Russia further tightened its conditions with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, saying that Moscow considered that the “international recognition” of its annexation of five Ukrainian regions was a “imperative” for any agreement.

All these new features led some European capitals to rethink their efforts to “keep (Trump) committed,” said the first officer and, instead, “doing the right and rather not what Trump wants.”

Kyiv has begun preparing to go -alone in anticipation of a United States start, increasing the production of domestic weapons and intensifying conversations with European allies about future assistance.

It was unclear if the United States would stop intelligence and military support in Ukraine, as Trump temporarily did in March, in the case of the White House that retired from diplomatic efforts, according to officials.

“There are serious Aprehensions in Ukraine that Trump could move away from the cessation negotiations of fire,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, a Member of the Zelenskyy governing party and at the head of the Parliamentary Affairs Committee, told the FT.

“The worst thing that can happen in US-UKRAINE relations is when Trump will lose any interest in Ukraine,” he said, adding that “it could be perceived by Putin as a tacit permit from the United States to climb the war.”

Andy Bounds additional reports in Brussels and Guy Chazan in New York