Polish president says Trump has ‘seen reality’ and can push Russia toward peace with stronger sanctions — Politico

Polish President Andrzej Duda said he is pressuring Donald Trump to strengthen sanctions against Russia in an effort to force Moscow to end its war in Ukraine, Politico reported.

Duda described Trump as the only person capable of bringing President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table. “America can use various economic instruments to force Russia to respect certain actions,” Duda said.

According to Duda, Trump has “seen the reality” following recent talks with the Russian president and possesses “the right tools to block Putin’s fundamental interests.” Some of those tools, he added, “may be very radical, very harsh,” but Trump is “capable of implementing them.”

Trump has repeatedly said he believes Putin wants peace. However, after a deadly Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv in the early hours of April 24, he publicly questioned that assumption and said he would consider imposing secondary sanctions on Russia.