A senior Kremlin official on Thursday suggested that European participants at this week’s G7 gathering probably presented U.S. President Donald Trump with misleading or damaging ideas about the conflict in Ukraine, while stressing that the U.S. leader remains independently minded.
Speaking on Russian state television, Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin foreign policy aide, said he believed Trump had been "pumped with...harmful ideas" at the summit and that Europeans were exerting "an unhelpful influence" on the U.S. president. At the same time, Ushakov emphasised that Trump is a "strong politician" who adheres to his own positions.
The comments follow public remarks by Trump after a meeting on Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Trump said Russia should make peace with Ukraine following what he described as a "very good" discussion with Zelenskiy. Those remarks prompted cautious optimism among G7 leaders that a negotiated settlement might be possible.
Ushakov pushed back against the G7 account of the summit discussion, saying he believed Trump had been misinformed about the military situation in Ukraine during the talks. He also noted that Moscow is expecting a visit from Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, but he said no date has been set for that trip.
According to Ushakov, Zelenskiy and his European allies stressed to Trump that they judged Ukraine’s battlefield position had strengthened as a result of drone strikes carried out deep inside Russia. Ushakov rejected that assessment, calling it "categorically not true."
Ushakov added that Trump commented on some matters while withholding judgment on others, and concluded by urging observers to wait and see how developments unfold.
Contextual notes
- The Kremlin aide attributes differing views to the influence of European leaders at the G7 summit.
- Trump’s public call for Russia to make peace followed his meeting with Zelenskiy and produced a degree of cautious hope among other G7 participants.
- Moscow expects envoys from Trump to visit, but details and timing remain unspecified.