Tensions are running high as the U.S. works to broker a deal to end the years-long Ukraine-Russia war. While a German official expressed doubt about the efficacy of the Washington-led talks, a Chinese official gave a more optimistic outlook on the ceasefire efforts.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, warned the U.S. not to “engage with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s stalling tactics.” She also urged Europe to back Ukraine, describing the talks between the U.S. and Russia as being in a “deadlock,” the Associated Press reported.
However, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi disagreed with Baerbock’s assessment of the U.S.-Russia talks, and insisted that progress was being made. China’s relationship with Russia has grown over the course of the Ukraine war, with Beijing providing Moscow with diplomatic support and a trading partner.
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Yi was recently quoted as saying that “certain results have been achieved” in the talks, according to the AP. He also said in an interview that China supports the goal of “a fair, long-term, binding peace agreement acceptable to all parties involved,” the AP reported.
President Donald Trump showed some agreement with China’s assessment, saying that progress was being made, but still expressed frustration with both sides. The president scolded Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when speaking to reporters on Sunday, saying that there is “tremendous hatred” between the two leaders.
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Trump also said in a weekend interview that he was “pissed off” at Putin for lashing out at Zelenskyy.
“If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” Trump told NBC News.
The U.S. has struggled in its efforts to secure an immediate 30-day ceasefire deal, despite Moscow saying it agreed with a truce “in principle.”
In mid-March, State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said “the ball is now in Russia’s court” when it comes to ending the war that has persisted for more than three years.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
