Trump hopes to flatter Putin into negotiating on Ukraine, experts say

A Trump diplomat called Putin “a humanitarian,” another in a recent flurry of overtures to the Russian leader. But it’s unclear whether blandishments will entice him to strike a deal.

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. “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