‘Europeans Must Step Up’: Trump Unwilling to Pressure Putin – Former Ambassador

WASHINGTON DC – As the White House reportedly delays the legislative branch by seeking amendments to a proposed sanctions bill targeting Russia, a former US Ambassador to Ukraine expresses skepticism about any shift in the administration’s stance, following recent comments on Russia by US President Donald Trump at the G7 Summit do not indicate a change.

“The American people and the Senate are clearly in support of Ukraine and are opposed to Russia. But we don’t see that coming out from this administration. We don’t see that yet,” William Taylor, who served as chargé d’affaires at the US Embassy in Kyiv during Donald Trump’s first term, and as the US Ambassador to Ukraine under both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said on Tuesday.

Senators Lindsey Graham, (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal, (D-CT), introduced their bipartisan “Russia Sanctions Act” months ago garnering 84 co-sponsors. However, the Senate leadership, in consultations with the White House, has been delaying a vote to supposedly give Trump room to pursue a diplomatic settlement between Russia and Ukraine. The legislation would impose sweeping economic penalties, including 500% tariffs on any third country that does business with Moscow.

Given that there’s no clear shift in the Trump administration’s stance towards Russia, Taylor highlights the need for European countries to weigh in and take actions such as seizing Russian assets, as the US administration is not providing sufficient support.

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“The Europeans have to step up! And, you know, President Trump leaves [the G7 summit], the Europeans and Canada are there, and they can take some steps,” Taylor said during an address to an Atlantic Council event on Tuesday.

He went on to elaborate: “[The Europeans] can seize those [frozen Russian] assets – those are the kinds of things that the Europeans have to do at this point, because until something changes here in Washington, then it’s going to be the Europeans who are going to provide the support to the Ukrainians.”

Taylor went on to highlight the Ukrainians’ determination and innovative capabilities, such as demonstrated by its recent “Spiderweb” operation, which – as he put it – indicates their resilience and willingness to continue fighting.

While these measures won’t change the entire situation, he said, they do indicate the Ukrainians’ ability to fight effectively.

In the meantime, he said, there hasn’t been any real progress in the negotiations, and probably won’t be until and unless Putin feels some real pressure on him to come to the table.

“The Europeans need to reinforce that the Ukrainians are doing their job to demonstrate that they’re in this, and they’re continuing to fight this, but it’s going to take some real pressure on Putin to get him to negotiate,” he concluded.