Prior to today's conference call, Donald Trump emphasized his discussion with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
However, the outcomes seem rather unimpressive.
The Russian president has provided the U.S. leader with just enough substance to assert that he achieved some advancement toward peace in Ukraine, without appearing as though he was manipulated by the Kremlin.
Trump could highlight Putin's commitment to stop assaults on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for 30 days. Should this occur, it would provide some respite to ordinary citizens.
But it's nowhere near the full and unconditional ceasefire that the US wanted from Russia.
The "very horrible war" Trump has insisted he can stop is still raging.
And Putin, an individual charged by the ICC as a suspected war criminal has received a boost to return to the upper echelons of global politics.
According to Russian state media reports, the telephone conversation between the two presidents extended for over two hours. Additionally, the Kremlin’s summary of the discussion was extensive, spanning approximately 500 words.
It portrays the dialogue as casual: they seemingly talked about ice hockey, a level of detail that Russian viewers would eagerly consume.
Following three years of being ostracized in the Western world, and having had tense relations for an even longer period prior, Russia is now engaging directly with a US administration that seeks to establish dialogue.
The two leaders are even talking about Middle East peace and "global security."
The Kremlin must find it hard to believe the change that has occurred.
Before the conversation, people were curious if Donald Trump would exert additional pressure on Russia. It has been evident for more than a week that Moscow had been delaying the ceasefire agreement.
However, there's no indication of a stern rebuke for Putin akin to the one Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky faced during his visit to the Oval Office just two weeks prior.
The records from both nations indicate that there have been no alterations.
Russia continues to claim its desire for peace. However, rather than ceasing drone operations and stopping gunfire, it’s nitpicking about monitoring mechanisms for a ceasefire that has yet to be established.
At the same time, it continues to impose additional conditions designed to undermine Kiev's capacity to fight back.
A key requirement is for the supply of both arms and intel to Ukraine from its allies to be halted.
For Ukrainians, the sole glimmer of hope lies in the fact that the U.S. has not consented to any of this – so far.
They can additionally use this call as further evidence that Russia does not intend to cease its invasion.
However, all that discussion will provide Ukraine only slight relief from its distress.
For U.S. diplomacy as well, this must be quite discouraging.
However, for the Kremlin, it will seem like a rather good day, one that was inconceivable before Donald Trump came back to the White House.
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