Poroshenko, Trump discuss situation in Donbas

U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the recent escalation of warfare in Donbas in a Feb. 4 telephone call with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, their first official communication. They discussed strengthening the strategic partnership between the two nations, said Presidential Spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko. “Particular attention was paid to handling the situation in Donbas and gaining peace by political and diplomatic means,” he reported. “The sides expressed their deep concern about the escalation of tensions and the worsening of the humanitarian situation, above all in the Avdiyivka district. They stressed the urgent need to establish a full ceasefire regime.”

After the call, Trump issued his own statement. “We will work with Ukraine, Russia and all other involved sides to help them establish peace along the border.” On Feb. 5, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said in an ABC News interview that the Russian government’s attitude in the next several months will determine whether sanctions remain in place. Russia is interested in combating the Islamic State and Trump will examine ways to renew relations for the sake of cooperation with that goal, he said.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told the United Nations on Feb. 3 that the U.S. condemns the Russian aggression in Donbas. “We do want to better our relations with Russia,” she said in her testimony. “However, the dire situation in eastern Ukraine is one that demands clear and strong condemnation of Russian actions.”

Zenon Zawada: The statements offered by Trump and his team reveal a firm and consistent policy on Russia that is mostly in line with the track set by former President Obama. The main exception being is that we have long understood that Trump would be looking for ways to remove sanctions against Russia and bring it back to the global communiy.

We also expected that any relaxation of sanctions would require ceasing the warfare in Donbas. Indeed reports on Feb. 2 that Trump has already relaxed a set of sanctions have proven false – the move was a technical fix for the Russian FSB that had been planned by the Obama administration.

It’s a positive sign that Trump finally spoke with Poroshenko about the warfare in Donbas. We expect Trump to move forward on his cooperation with the Russian government in fighting the Islamic State, but not without peace in Ukraine. Creating that incentive just might be the out-of-the-box solution that enables a breakthrough in the current impasse.