President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

Justin Logan, Cato’s director of defense and foreign policy studies, issued the following statement about today’s phone call:

Diplomacy in the Ukraine-Russia war is frustrating many, but should be surprising few. Putin’s commitment to his objectives was unshakable when President Biden was promising “as much as it takes for as long as it takes,” and he remains hard to turn three years into the war.

Putin’s focus remains on a long-term settlement on European security that does not center on endless NATO expansion. He has been reluctant to move forward on a short-term ceasefire without progress on creating a new security order in Europe. Also, though there is little movement of the front lines, Russia retains advantages over Ukraine that Western aid has not changed and likely cannot change.

One underrated factor here is Europe’s role. To date, Europe has relied on US leadership and played a supporting role. That has begun to change. Enduring anxiety over Ukraine may contribute to Trump’s longstanding efforts to get European states to play a larger role on Europe’s own security.

Trump’s statement after the call claimed that Putin agreed to talks with Ukraine directly on an end to the war and the terms of a ceasefire. Though the diplomacy has proven frustratingly slow, so has the search for victory on the battlefield.

If you’d like to speak with Logan, please reach out to mmiller@​cato.​org.