Trump and Putin: Deal in the Making or a High-Stakes Standoff? | OilPrice.com

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

70% : Trump once again brought up his personal rapport with the Russian leader when speaking to reporters at the White House on January 20, saying he gets "along with [Putin] great.
52% : Trump could aim to add to those measures.
52% : Scott Bessent, Trump's pick for treasury secretary, said during his January 16 confirmation hearing that he "100 percent" supports intensifying sanctions on Russian oil producers to bring Moscow "to the table," if Trump requests it.
50% : Trump is also looking to leverage his relationship with Putin, who he praised in the past as a "savvy" strategist, and said he plans to meet face-to-face with the Russian leader.
45% : This may see Trump look to exercise leverage -- and that could include imposing harsher sanctions on Russia's economy.
43% : Trump vowed during his inaugural address on January 20 to be a "peacemaker" and promised on the campaign trail to quickly end the war in Ukraine, the recipient of billions in U.S. military aid.
37% : "What Tools Does Trump Have?
33% : "Trump could also pressure Putin into talks by threatening increased military support for Ukraine and changing the dynamic on the battlefield.
28% : "There is still concern that Trump will reach a deal with Putin and then tell Ukraine they must take it or he will suspend U.S. assistance to Ukraine," said Marie Dumoulin, a former French diplomat at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
28% : "But he also voiced criticism, a signal Trump could wield both a carrot and a stick in a bid to cut a deal with Moscow.
26% : But as momentum for talks picks up steam, Trump may also struggle to bring Russia to the negotiating table.
25% : In calling out Xi, Trump appears to think his personal touch can make a difference.
23% : Trump alluded to the use of sanctions when speaking to reporters on January 21.
21% : "I think [Putin is] destroying Russia by not making a deal," Trump said.
20% : Trump has indicated he may use both sanctions and personal diplomacy to pressure Putin into making a deal.
17% : Whether Trump will elect this path remains to be seen, especially given that he promised on the campaign trail to pull financial support for Ukraine and criticized the Biden administration during his inaugural address for "unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders."

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.