Oh bhai, suno suno! Bara siyasi scene chal raha hai. Apne Donald Trump sahib, jo public mein Putin ko apna "buddy" aur peace-lover show karte hain, unka private stance kuch aur hi nikla.
Wall Street Journal ki report ke mutabiq, Trump ne Monday ko European leaders ko privately bataya ke unka "buddy" Putin to abhi bhi samjhta hai ke Ukraine mein woh jeet raha hai, aur abhi jang rokne ke mood mein nahi hai. Ye baat Trump ki usual public statements se bilkul ulta hai.
Ye "naya take" tab samne aaya jab ek private call hui, jismein Ukrainian President Zelensky, French President Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, aur EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shamil thay.
Ab tak Trump ne kabhi publicly nahi kaha tha ke Putin ko jang khatam karne mein koi interest nahi. Lekin is call mein unhone ye baat maan li. Lekin despite this private acknowledgment, Trump ne woh action nahi liya jo Zelensky aur Europeans bar bar keh rahay thay – Russia par naye sanctions lagane ka pressure.
Interesting baat ye hai ke is call se aik din pehle, Sunday ko, Trump ne Macron, Merz, Meloni, aur naye UK PM Keir Starmer se baat ki thi. Tab unhone kaha tha ke agar Putin ceasefire reject karta hai to woh sanctions lagane par ghaur kar sakte hain.
Lekin sanctions ke bajaye, Trump ne kaha ke woh Ukraine aur Russia ke beech low-level talks ko fast track karna chahte hain, aur woh bhi Vatican mein. Zelensky bhi Monday ki call mein shamil tha. European leaders ne dus din tak Trump par pressure banaya hua tha, is umeed mein ke woh America ka influence use karke Putin ko rokenge.
Lekin yeh koshish kaam nahi aayi. Trump ne koi serious commitment nahi di. Woh bas repeat karte rahay ke "ye meri jang nahi hai." Unhone reporters ko bhi Monday ko yehi kaha, "This isn't my war. We got ourselves entangled in something we shouldn't have been involved in."
Call par kuch European leaders chahte thay ke Vatican mein hone wali kisi bhi talks mein "unconditional ceasefire" shamil ho. Trump ko ye pasand nahi aaya. Unhone claim kiya ke unhone kabhi "unconditional" word use nahi kiya, halanke May 8 ki unki Truth Social post mein clearly woh word shamil tha jab unhone 30-day ceasefire ka demand kiya tha. Eventually, Europeans ne woh word use karna chor diya.
Jab Friedrich Merz May ke shuru mein Chancellor bane, to diplomatic push aur aggressive ho gaya. Pehle ke Chancellor Olaf Scholz se different, Merz Putin se confront karne ko zyada willing hain. Unki government ne to Germany ke constitution mein bhi change kiya taake zyada military spending ki ja sake.
May 10 ko, Merz, Macron, Starmer, aur Polish PM Donald Tusk ne Zelensky se Kyiv mein surprise visit ki. Visit ke dauran, unhone Macron ke phone se Trump ko directly call ki aur bataya ke Ukraine 30-day ceasefire ke liye ready hai. Unhone Putin ko warn kiya ke agar woh agree nahi karta to Europe naye sanctions lagayega.
Putin ne is warning ka jawab pehli bar teen saal mein Ukraine ke sath direct talks offer karke diya. Trump ne is mauqe ko pakad liya aur yahan tak suggest kiya ke woh talks mein shamil hone ke liye Turkey bhi ja sakte hain.
Istanbul mein aik meeting hui, lekin Putin khud nahi aaye. Unhone mid-level negotiators bheje, jinhone Russia ki usual demands repeat keen, jo Ukraine pehle hi reject kar chuka tha.
Is no-show ke baad, European leaders dobara Trump ke paas aaye. Unhone bataya ke Putin ka behavior prove karta hai ke stronger action ki zaroorat hai. Unhone kuch minor sanctions lagaye, lekin bade sanctions abhi bhi plan mein hain.
Trump ne kaha ke unhone Putin ke sath aik naya call schedule kiya hai kyunke unka khayal hai ke dono leaders ke darmiyan baat-cheet ke bina peace deal nahi ho sakti.
Sunday ki call mein European leaders ke sath (Putin se baat karne se pehle), Trump ne kaha ke US Europe ke sath mil kar Russian oil aur banks par sanctions laga sakta hai. Senator Lindsey Graham, jo Trump ke ally hain, ne Wednesday ko kaha ke unhone already 81 co-sponsors secure kar liye hain aik bill ke liye jo Russia par energy aur financial sanctions se hit karega.
Lekin woh Sunday call mein bhi Trump ke usual andaaz thay. Unhone Merz ki English ki tareef ki. "I love it even more with your German accent," Trump told him. Lekin woh Europe ki migration policies par bhi attack karne lag gaye, kehne lage ke unke countries "brink of collapse" par hain. Macron, jo Trump ko sab se zyada arsay se jaante hain, unhone unhe rokne ko kaha. "You cannot insult our nations, Donald," he said.
Is awkward moment ke bawajood, call par kuch logon ko laga ke Trump naye sanctions ko support kar sakte hain agar Putin peace refuse karta hai. Lekin woh umeedain jaldi khatam ho gain. Vatican talks ab mid-June ke liye schedule hain.