"President Trump acknowledged that his rapid drive to end the war in Ukraine had hit a snag, observing that Russia appears to be slow-walking the U.S.-brokered negotiations as it angles for further concessions from the West.
Trump's comments came hours after the White House announced a Black Sea cease-fire deal and Russia promptly demanded more steps from the West on sanctions relief before complying.
Asked about Moscow's procrastination, Trump said the Kremlin might be "dragging its feet," and compared the maneuvering to his own past tactics in real-estate negotiations. "I've done it over the years. You know, I don't want to sign a contract. I want to sort of stay in the game, but maybe I don't want to do it quite -- I'm not sure," he told Newsmax.
The Kremlin didn't respond to a request for comment.
Trump, whose first published book was titled "The Art of the Deal," has said his prowess in business negotiations could be extended successfully to the international arena. But in his breakneck effort to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine, Trump faces a wily and seasoned opponent: Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Putin has made it clear that he wants major concessions to end the war -- conditions that are unacceptable to Ukraine and its European allies. These include keeping Ukraine out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, handing over swaths of Ukrainian territory and ensuring that whatever remains of Ukraine after that can't rearm with Western help.
As the Trump administration has pushed for a more limited truce as an initial step toward peace, Russia has responded by offering baby steps toward a deal, laden with conditions that reflect longstanding Kremlin demands.
"These are absolutely standard Kremlin negotiating tactics," said Laurie Bristow, a former U.K. ambassador to Russia. "What they will always do is try to control the agenda and the timetable. They'll try to get maximum concessions on pretty much everything they possibly can up front, and pay as close to nothing for them as they possibly can."
Last week, Trump spoke with Putin, hoping to win an unconditional 30-day cease-fire. The one narrow condition that Putin agreed to was an end to attacks on energy infrastructure. If such a deal can be made to stick, it would benefit Moscow by ending Ukraine's campaign of long-range drone attacks on refineries and other oil facilities.
So far, the energy truce doesn't appear to have taken hold. Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of violations.
U.S. and Russian negotiators this week said there was a deal to "eliminate the use of force" in the Black Sea. Ukraine, whose negotiators met separately with the U.S. team, agreed. But then Moscow threw a wrench in the works. "They've got five or six conditions. We're looking at all of them," Trump said." [1]
1. World News -- Trump: Russia Might Be 'Dragging Its Feet' --- The president said he had used similar tactics in real-estate deal negotiations. Osipovich, Alexander. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 27 Mar 2025: A7.
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