New York Post: Putin Will Pay Dearly For Trolling Trump

Washington is preparing a tough response.

Russia's ruler Vladimir Putin appears to have dashed hopes for a peace deal on the war in Ukraine that were voiced during a summit with Donald Trump in Alaska. Despite promises voiced by the Russian side in Anchorage, the Kremlin is now issuing ultimatums that make negotiations impossible, writes New York Post.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on NBC's Meet the Press that "no meeting is planned" between Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. According to him, such a meeting is possible only after a preliminary agreement that would be in line with the Kremlin's "agenda".

This agenda includes a number of demands:

Ukraine's rejection of NATO membership;

the repeal of laws protecting the Ukrainian language;

a tentative agreement on "territorial issues," which Moscow does not specify.

In addition, Lavrov questioned Zelensky's legitimacy, calling him "the de facto head of the regime."

Such statements stand in stark contrast to what U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said Putin acknowledged in Alaska: "They recognized that they could not install a puppet regime in Kiev and, importantly, they recognized the need for certain guarantees of Ukraine's territorial integrity."

NYP believes that Putin is actually "trolling" not only Zelensky, but Trump himself, demonstrating "the art of refusing to deal."

The American president, meanwhile, has begun to signal his displeasure. He recently said, "It is very difficult, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invading country," hinting at the possibility of expanding authorizations for Ukrainian strikes into Russian territory.

Trump also left on the table the option of tough secondary sanctions against the Russian economy. After the summit, he gave Putin just two weeks to move on to a face-to-face meeting with Zelensky, but the first one has already passed without progress.

So Moscow is demonstrating its willingness to derail diplomatic agreements while testing Washington's patience. Observers warn: Putin risks turning "peace signals" in Alaska into his own humiliation if Trump responds with forceful steps.

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