How has President Donald Trump – the ‘dealmaker’ – done on foreign policy?
The 30-day pause in airstrikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that Donald Trump got Vladimir Putin to agree to lasted perhaps a few hours.
The White House had claimed “we’ve never been closer to a peace deal” before the phone call between the two leaders yesterday.
Instead, Mr Trump appears to have achieved little in his conversation with Mr Putin, whose ‘red lines’ seem very much intact as his troops continue to hammer the Ukrainian frontlines and with Volodymyr Zelenskyy accusing him of hitting Ukrainian energy infrastructure overnight
It’s been a whirlwind first couple of months of the second Trump administration, both stateside and abroad.
As the fallout from the latest development in the Ukraine war continues, let’s look at how the dealmaker-in-chief has fared in his various international interactions.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone. File pic: Reuters
Cutting Ukraine out of negotiations
Mr Trump famously promised to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of being sworn in as commander in chief for a second time (he now says he was being sarcastic), but certainly, a swift peace is firmly on his wishlist.
In the last few weeks he has cut off and resumed military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine, berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy in public and started peace negotiations with Russia without Kyiv’s involvement.
Now the 30-day pause on attacks on energy facilities that Mr Putin agreed to on the phone appears to have been abandoned the same day, with drone strikes launched against Ukraine overnight.
What is clear, however, is that Mr Trump’s comments (and those of his associates) around NATO allies not spending enough appear to have galvanised Europe.
Countries including the UK have pledged to boost defence spending and shoulder more of the security burden – though potentially pivoting away from lucrative American arms sales at the same time.
Empty shelves in the American whiskey section of a shop in Vancouver. Pic: Reuters
Trade war with Canada
Mr Trump’s signature economic policy – tariffs on imports – have opened up what essentially amounts to a trade war with America’s biggest trade partner: Canada.
His comments on making the Great White North into the “51st state” have not helped, with new Canadian PM Mark Carney vowing his country will “never ever be part of the US”.
The American president has slapped 25% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products from 2 April.
Mark Carney has hit out at Donald Trump and called for Canada to be shown respect. Pic: Reuters
Canada, which is the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminium to the US, announced 25% retaliatory tariffs on those metals along with computers, sports equipment and other products worth $20bn in total.
That’s on top of tariffs imposed on 4 March worth a similar amount on US goods in response to broader tariffs by Mr Trump.
Read more:
What are Donald Trump’s tariffs?
Sky News correspondents react to Trump-Putin call
Impact of tariffs elsewhere
Canada is far from the only nation to be hit with sweeping trade tariffs by the Trump administration.
Mr Trump also imposed tariffs on Mexico – a key US trade partner – due to the fentanyl crisis in the US and illegal immigration. Mexico, along with Canada, hit back with retaliatory tariffs.
Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum has sought to appease Mr Trump, including by sending 10,000 national guard soldiers to the border with the US – a win for Mr Trump, though it only amounts to an extra five guards per mile of the border.
The EU’s Ursula von der Leyen criticised new US tariffs on steel and aluminium, and the bloc pledged to raise its tariffs on American products.
China, which has been hit by a 20% tariff by Mr Trump, said it was “ready” for “any type of war” with the US.
The trade escalation between the two countries also spooked markets, contributing to a widespread stock market sell-off.
What’s more, there’s a possibility that China could benefit from the global tariffs regime in the long run.
End of the Gaza ceasefire?
Despite it being signed during the final days of US President Joe Biden’s time in office, Mr Trump took a great deal of credit for the ceasefire deal signed between Israel and Hamas back in January.
It seems that his impending inauguration served to spur things on and help get the deal over the line.
In December, he made a public demand for the release of the hostages, threatening “ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East”, while his envoy put pressure on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
The eventual deal did bring some success – around 30 hostages were released along with more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
But Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza this week, bringing the fragile ceasefire to an end without moving to phase two, which would have seen conversations around a permanent ceasefire.
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Why does Trump want Greenland?
Greenland and Panama
Mr Trump has also spoken repeatedly about his desire to annex Greenland, despite protests from Denmark and Greenlanders themselves.
“I think that will happen,” he said earlier this month when asked about the US taking over the territory – something around 85% of Greenlanders oppose.
He said the US already has a military presence in Greenland and added: “Maybe you’ll see more and more soldiers going there.”
The row has caused tensions between America and Denmark, which is a US ally and a member of NATO.
Mr Trump has also promised to take over the Panama Canal, a key trade route for international shipping.
He expressed a desire for America to “take back” the crucial waterway from alleged Chinese control.
Earlier this month, a Hong Kong firm sold two major ports on the Panama Canal to a US firm. Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings said the move was “wholly unrelated to recent political news” but the development was nonetheless welcomed by Mr Trump.
The tone has changed totally. It’s a remarkable turnaround from the Oval Office meltdown to the perfect phone call.
President Trump is wholly transactional. His desire for give and take far outweighs any ideological instincts. He has no particular alignment to Ukraine or, for that matter, to Russia.
He just wants a deal. Peace would stop the killing as he has said repeatedly. It would also allow for deals which can benefit America: recouping the taxpayer money spent on Ukraine and reconnecting the American economy with Russia.
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Will Trump turn on Putin?
But trumping all that is his legacy and his image. He wants to be seen as the peacemaker president.
Since the Oval Office moment, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy seems now to have recognised all that.
Ukraine’s approach towards Trump has changed. Zelenskyy is now playing his game: transactionalism.
The minerals deal hasn’t dissolved. The indications I am getting is that it’s essentially been upgraded and broadened to a wider scope: fuller economic cooperation.
Zelenskyy needs to encourage America deep into his country economically. Has he bought into the idea that a US economic footprint amounts to a key part of a security guarantee?
Read more:
A timeline of Trump and Zelenskyy’s relationship
What could be the future of Ukraine?
Sky’s correspondents react to Trump-Putin phone call
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The old adage is: “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu.” That’s too true with President Trump.
Zelenskyy now feels like he’s at the table and I am told he doesn’t feel coerced.
The challenges remain huge though: he doesn’t trust Putin. That’s what he tried to tell President Trump in the Oval Office. The performance that day proved to him that Trump is inclined to trust Putin.
Zelenskyy must use transactionalism to draw an impatient Trump in.
President Trump is in a hurry for a deal. He’s inclined to accept wholly disingenuous commitments from Russia, or as one source put it to me: “Trump has a high tolerance for bullshit…”
That’s the jeopardy for Zelenskyy.
US
Donald Trump has ‘very good’ call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which he discusses US ownership of Ukrainian energy plants
US President Donald Trump has had a “very good” call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the White House says, during which US ownership of Ukraine’s energy network was discussed to help protect it.
Mr Trump also agreed to “help locate” additional air defence support in Europe after a request from the Ukrainian leader, a statement about the one-hour phone call said.
Further talks will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in the coming days, and the US will continue intelligence sharing with Ukraine, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Mr Trump also agreed to work to ensure missing Ukrainian children are returned home and both parties agreed to a temporary 30-day ceasefire involving attacks against energy facilities, with the US president saying the US “could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise”, Ms Leavitt said.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio also issued a statement about the call saying that “President Trump also discussed Ukraine’s electrical supply and nuclear power plants.
“He said that the United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise. American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure.”
The White House statement added that Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy also reviewed the situation in Kursk and agreed to share information closely.
The presidents instructed their teams to move ahead with the details of implementing a partial ceasefire, with discussions to include expanding any ceasefire to the Black Sea.
“We have never been closer to peace,” Ms Leavitt added.
In comments later on Wednesday, Mr Zelenskyy said that Mr Trump understands that Ukraine will not recognise occupied land as Russian, and that he would like the US president to visit Ukraine – adding that “it would be helpful for Trump in his peace efforts”.
In an earlier statement, President Zelenskyy said the two leaders had “a positive, very substantive and frank conversation”.
Mr Zelenskyy echoed much of Mr Trump’s statement about what was decided, and said later that he “felt no pressure” from the US president.
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Trump and Zelenskyy ‘on track’
“We agreed that Ukraine and the United States should continue working together to achieve a real end to the war and lasting peace. We believe that together with America, with President Trump, and under American leadership, lasting peace can be achieved this year,” Mr Zelenskyy said
He added that Ukraine would “continue working to make this happen”.
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“I stressed that Ukrainians want peace, which is why Ukraine accepted the proposal for an unconditional ceasefire,” he said. “I highlighted the importance of President Trump’s concept of peace through strength. We agreed to maintain constant contact, including at the highest level and through our teams.”
In an earlier post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said the “very good” phone call lasted around one hour.
Read more:
A timeline of Trump and Zelenskyy’s relationship
What could be the future of Ukraine?
Sky’s correspondents react to Trump-Putin phone call
“Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs,” Mr Trump said.
“We are very much on track,” he added.
The call marks the first time Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy have spoken since the disastrous confrontation in the White House last month.
Mr Zelenskyy travelled to Washington expecting to sign a critical minerals deal but left early after he and Trump clashed in front of the world’s cameras.
On Tuesday, Mr Trump and Vladimir Putin held a phone call lasting about an hour and a half in which the Russian leader rejected a full 30-day ceasefire.
He agreed to not attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for 30 days. The two countries also swapped 175 prisoners each earlier this morning.
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