But the very fact that he has now posted on social media that Russia is the obstacle here, he's reversed what he said when he first spoke to President Putin and Putin told him that they had told him that they had targeted, that they tried to assassinate him, which is what he told him, I think he would -- he now understands that this wasn't true. And he is now beginning to understand perhaps that Vladimir Putin really doesn't want to sign peace agreement with Ukraine and that the reason he told President Trump that the Ukrainians had tried to assassinate him was to try and persuade President Trump that Russia had every right to keep hitting Ukraine. And so maybe there now has to be, I think, an agreement, a consensus between the president and his chief negotiators and also Secretary of State Rubio that in fact Russia is the obstacle to peace and that Putin has just been playing them along because he does not want the Trump administration to impose more sanctions on Russia or reverse itself on supplying Ukraine with certain weapons, which would enable the Ukrainians to push back against the Russians more effectively.
Author: Nick Schifrin, Karina Cuevas, Dan Sagalyn
Published at: 2025-12-31 23:45:35
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