Germany: Trump’s Agreement with Putin Means Nothing in Reality
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius criticized the agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt mutual attacks on energy infrastructure in the Ukraine war for 30 days, describing it as having “zero impact.”
In an interview with Germany’s ZDF television, Pistorius stated that the agreement is meaningless in reality since Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is already well-protected.
He pointed out that Russian attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure continued even after Trump’s phone call with Putin. “Putin is playing a game here, and I am certain that the U.S. president will not be able to remain a mere spectator for long… I am also quite sure that the time will come when he will have to respond—out of strength and in defense of the United States’ reputation,” Pistorius said.
The German minister believes that Putin’s conditions for a ceasefire are primarily aimed at weakening Ukraine, allowing him to continue rearming and gathering more troops along the border or in occupied territories.
Following the phone call between Trump and Putin, the Kremlin announced that Putin had laid out several demands, including halting Western arms and intelligence support for Ukraine. However, Trump later told Fox News that Putin did not call for an immediate stop to all aid to Ukraine. He did not clarify whether this referred to military, financial, or humanitarian assistance.
