Over the course of a tumultuous few weeks of talks, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his frustration with Kyiv. On March 7, Trump declared that he finds it "more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine" than Russia.
Yet, after weeks of strong-arming Ukraine into submission, the Trump administration is yet to ask Russia for a single concession, and real negotiations with the Kremlin have yet to actually begin.
According to experts who spoke to the Kyiv Independent, some of them with direct experience of diplomatic dealings with Moscow, the reality of coming up against Russian President Vladimir Putin in talks may come as a shock to Trump.
"I think (Putin) probably sees Trump as a useful idiot who is helpful in promoting his agenda," Ryhor Nizhnikau, a Russia expert at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told the Kyiv Independent.
https://kyivindependent.com/trump-said-ukraine-is-more-difficult-to-deal-with-t han-russia-that-might-be-about-to-change/
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* Origin: Ukraine News from various sources (2:263/1)