Putin’s Secret Plot to Lure Trump Into Ultimate Betrayal Revealed
The Russian president has been buoyed by Trump’s willingness to side with Moscow.
Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS
Vladimir Putin is hoping to lure Donald Trump to a Yalta-style superpower summit that would allow him to end the war in Ukraine on the Kremlin’s terms, according to a bombshell report.
The Russian leader has proposed a meeting next month with Trump and China’s Xi Jinping—but without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
Putin raised the idea of a three-way summit during a phone call with Trump on Oct. 9, according to a former Russian intelligence officer. During the same call, Trump agreed to the controversial move to allow Russia to export diesel to global markets in a desperate bid to ease the global oil crisis ahead of the midterms.
Days later, Trump also announced that he would waive congressionally approved sanctions aimed at restricting funding for the Kremlin’s war effort, just two days before they were due to be implemented.
Trump has already made decisions that are highly beneficial to Russia to try to end the conflict.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The Journal noted that a meeting between Trump, Putin, and Xi to discuss ending the nearly five-year conflict without Zelensky present would be “unprecedented” and would “send alarm bells” ringing in Europe and elsewhere around the world.
“There is no clear understanding yet regarding the meeting itself or its potential agenda, although all three parties acknowledge the hypothetical possibility of such a meeting taking place,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Journal, confirming discussions about a potential summit.
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A senior U.S. official said Trump had not agreed to meet Putin but could be open to the idea because the 80-year-old president is desperate to broker an end to the war. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump frequently claimed he would end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine within “one day” of returning to the White House in January 2025.
Russia has suggested holding the meeting between Trump, Putin, and Xi when the leaders gather for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, on Nov. 18-19.
Citing the former intelligence officer, The Journal said Putin had “broad if unrealistic ambitions” for the three-way meeting to become a second Yalta Conference, the 1945 summit when Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin agreed on the carve-up of Europe after World War II. That comparison might appeal to Trump’s vanity and self-image as a historic president.
There have long been fears that Trump’s willingness to appease Putin, along with criticism that he is too soft on the Russian leader, could mean any talks to end the invasion of Ukraine would produce an outcome more beneficial to Moscow.
Vladimir Putin previously proposed meeting Trump and Xi without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to a source.
Valentyn Ogirenko/REUTERS
Those fears were reignited after Trump effectively eased sanctions to allow Russia to export diesel and then put on hold a sweeping sanctions package named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham that was passed by Congress to pressure Moscow into ending its war against Ukraine.
A senior White House official told the Journal that Trump made the moves, which significantly benefited Russia, because he saw “few other good options” for lowering gas and oil prices that have surged amid his war in Iran. Intense voter backlash over soaring prices and the Iran war could doom Republicans to an electoral wipeout in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
A flailing Trump is also trying to shift blame for the soaring oil and gas crisis onto the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has dragged on for more than four and a half years. This includes urging Ukraine to stop targeting Russian oil refineries with drone strikes in an effort to ease pressure on fuel and diesel supplies.
However, there is a consensus among energy experts that the Iran war and closure of the Strait of Hormuz are the main drivers of the rising diesel prices, and that easing sanctions on Russia will do little to relieve pressure on global markets.
Trump continued to attack Zelenskyy and Ukraine’s tactics for fighting the Russian invasion in a Sunday Truth Social tirade.
“Zelenskyy is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States,” Trump wrote.
“Zelenskyy doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that Crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.”
In a Monday morning post on X, Zelensky said that Ukraine had agreed to “literally EVERY attempt by our partners to bring this war to a dignified end.”
“Putin not only doesn’t want to end this war—he doesn’t even want to take any steps toward de-escalation,” he added. “The reality is that the war continues, and it continues solely because of Russian strikes and Russia’s desire to drag this war out.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
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