US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s telephone conversation on Jan. 28 occurred amid widespread speculation that Trump would lift sanctions on Russia. While no such announcements were even hinted at, the contours of the emerging US-Russia dialogue will have momentous consequences for European security and for Ukraine.
The official White House readout of the conversation was minimalist, focusing primarily on the defeat of ISIS and emphasizing “a positive start to improving the [bilateral] relationship.” While the two leaders appear not to have discussed the lifting of sanctions against Russia, the readout’s general optimism and Trump’s numerous favorable comments about Putin have revived fears of an agreement on “spheres of influence” in eastern and central Europe between the two leaders. This, in turn, has created anxiety in a region where Russia has behaved in an increasingly belligerent manner. Indeed, the day after the Trump-Putin conversation, Russian-backed forces started a brutal offensive against the industrial city of Avdiyivka, which has led to twenty deaths already.
