"Turned the situation": Trump put forward the EU unfulfilled conditions to avoid pressure on Putin - WSJ

To spread: European governments pressed on US President Donald Trump to impose more rigid sanctions against Russia, but in response Trump made demands that Europe could not fulfill, thereby avoiding pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the same time, Trump in private conversations urged European leaders to use frozen Russian assets stored in Belgium since the beginning of a full -scale invasion, to support Ukraine, WSJ writes.

"Trump has turned the situation, urging them to stop the purchase of Russian oil and impose duties on India and China. Now European leaders are trying to find the answer," the article reads. Journalists explained that the requirement of Trump to stop the purchase of Russian energy carriers would meet the resistance of Hungary and Slovakia, which are strongly dependent on the gas of the Russian Federation.

And the call of Trump to impose rigid sanctions against China and India is a difficult task for Europe, as China remains an important export market, and with EU India plans to conclude a free trade agreement. "Some European diplomats claim that Trump has made its demands, knowing that the EU will not fulfill them, which will allow him to avoid additional economic pressure on Russia," the article stated.

The authors of the material emphasized that the search for Europe's answers to the Trump call illustrates the problems that this block has. "It also shows how few tools have countries or are ready to use to cause pain to Moscow. The EU sanctions series did not paralyze the Russian military car, and the European promise to buy American weapons to help Kiev in defense, faced delays in implementation," the article reads.