For Trump and his ring, Russia is like any other country

From UNIAN:

"The Guardian: Trump's policies make Europe realize it's left alone with Russia, 

Karina Bovsunovskaya, 11/29/25 

Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who currently represents the United States on the world stage and advises Russia on how to defeat the American leader, admitted to having little knowledge of history, and in May, he even told the Atlantic magazine that he watched several documentaries on Netflix to correct this. 

According to The Guardian, judging by his four visits to Moscow, he generally treats Russia like any other country, and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin like any other world leader. 

Specifically, Witkoff told interviewer Tucker Carlson that he was confident that Russia would not want to seize new territory in Europe once it had four regions of Ukraine.

"I think there's this idea: 'We should all be like Winston Churchill—the Russians are going to sweep across Europe.' I find that absurd," Trump's special envoy emphasized. 

Witkoff also added: "I don't think Putin is a bad person. It's a complicated situation, this war, and all the circumstances that led to it. You know, it's never just one person, right?"  

In his view, Russia sincerely strives for peace, and Trump also holds a similarly benevolent view of Putin. US Vice President J.D. Vance, in particular, ridiculed the idea that Putin has expansionist plans.

According to him, the Russian dictator is not Hitler.

For Europe, this means that no matter how often it tries to push Trump away from Russia, he always returns to his natural sympathy for Putin. Every time Europe feels it's on the verge of convincing Trump that Russia is an aggressor threatening European security and, by extension, the United States, Trump gives Putin another chance, "two more weeks," another phone call. Trump's only unwavering conviction is that Ukraine can't win the war and must minimize its losses.

At the same time, former French President François Hollande stated: "We are living through a historic and dramatic moment. Historic because this plan not only signifies Ukraine's capitulation, but also the transfer of Europe to the custodianship of a Russian-American condominium. Dramatic because for Ukraine, it means the final loss of a third of its territory and offers no security guarantees that would protect it from further Russian aggression. It is also dramatic because this plan is nothing more than Trump's acceptance of Vladimir Putin's demands, reducing Europe to the role of besieged observer."

However, as journalists argue, Europe has now learned to react to Trump's periodic attempts to justify and reward Putin.

Regarding the US "peace plan,"... the project was so one-sided and prescriptive about European security that it was indefensible...

Europe must now realize that it must resolve the Russian issue independently. Unlike Alaska, this time the US was drawn into signing on to Russian plans to remake Europe in Russia's interests. Thus, according to French historian Françoise Thom, the US has become complicit in the destruction of international law.

Meanwhile, some figures, such as Kallas, insist that Russia could be pushed to the brink of running out of funds, especially if Europe finds a legal way to provide Ukraine with a reparations loan using the Russian central bank's frozen assets, worth 210 billion euros.

But Europe has so often promised to come to its senses. Its worst enemy may not be Russia, but inertia."