Seeking Ukraine peace, Trump energetically throws Russia off balance - Washington Examiner

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

65% : Trump has promised to unleash U.S. domestic energy development and increase energy exports.
48% : The general commentariat expectation in Washington, one never shared by this writer, is that Trump would gift Putin with the deal of his dreams.
47% : Still, Trump is joining American nationalist interest in a strong economy with bold leadership that serves his interest in justly ending a brutal war.
45% : But Trump now seems set to adopt the alternate approach, helping secure Europe with cheaper energy.
44% : Of crucial benefit to Trump, Russia simply cannot afford a long-term struggle with the U.S. in the energy-sanctions domain.
42% : Consider what Trump has said since entering office on Monday.
41% : Trump and his Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, have also indicated that Ukraine will have to make territorial concessions, albeit in return for an internationally enforced demilitarized zone that deters any prospective Russian invasion five or 15 years down the road.
41% : But Trump is taking a different path.
41% : If we don't make a 'deal,' and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries."
39% : Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Trump also made clear that he wants to leverage global oil prices to pressure Putin.
38% : Bin Salman seems interested in bolstering relations with the U.S. under Trump, so it is not inconceivable that he would take the president's recommendation.
37% : Trump has said he intends to reduce military aid to Ukraine and restrict Ukrainian strikes into Russia with U.S.-provided weapons.
36% : Trump is now strongly indicating that expectation was badly misplaced.
33% : Russia had hoped that Trump would end the war simply by cutting off aid to Ukraine and pressuring European allies to do the same.
33% : In this case, Trump is making an apparent threat to sanction nations such as China, India, and Turkey that continue to provide Russia with a crucial export market even as Western sanctions have greatly reduced its total exports.
29% : Trump explicitly outlined that this would help end the war in Ukraine.
28% : Trump did so by calling on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to cut oil prices, presumably by increasing output or using his influence to negotiate OPEC cartel price cuts.
18% : But that's only half of the unpleasant message Trump has sent to Putin this week.

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