MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
For several days now, President Trump has expressed growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the slow progress toward ending the war in Ukraine - something he did again yesterday at the White House.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We're going to find out whether or not he's tapping us along or not. And if he is, we'll respond a little bit differently.
MARTIN: Meanwhile, Russia announced it's ready to hold another round of peace talks. In a few minutes, we'll talk about Trump and Putin's relationship with a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, William Taylor. But first, NPR's Charles Maynes is on the line with us from Moscow to discuss the latest developments. Hi, Charles. Good morning.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So let's just start by digging in on Trump's statements. We just heard the president briefly. Remind us, what has he been saying?
MAYNES: You know, this began with Trump expressing anger over Russia's intense bombing of cities across Ukraine over the weekend. Trump initially said Putin had gone absolutely crazy and threatened potential sanctions. That was on Sunday. Two days later, Trump reminded Moscow that if it hadn't been for him, quote, "really bad things would have already happened to Russia," and he warned Putin he was playing with fire. And then yesterday, Trump said he was disappointed that Russia had continued attacks while negotiations were ongoing. Yet, on this issue of hitting Russia with new sanctions or some other response, Trump made clear he's not there yet.
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TRUMP: If I think I'm close to getting a deal, I don't want to screw it up by doing that. Let me tell you, I'm a lot tougher than the people you're talking about, but you have to know when to use that.
MARTIN: OK, so some drift in there, but the president is saying he's not happy with Moscow's behavior. So how has the Kremlin responded?
MAYNES: Well, some Kremlin officials have called Trump misinformed, arguing Trump wasn't aware of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia over the week. More, they also point to a deal Ukraine signed yesterday with Germany to produce long-range weapons capable of striking inside Russia in the future. But overall, the Kremlin strategy appears to be not antagonizing Trump. President Putin has said nothing. Meanwhile, his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has repeatedly complimented Trump's effort to end the conflict while reminding these are complex negotiations full of nuances.
Now, critics will say, of course, that's just more foot-dragging by Moscow as fighting continues. And yet, Russia's foreign minister announced last night he was now ready to pick up talks where they left off, calling for a meeting with Ukraine in Istanbul, Turkey, next Monday, when each side can present documents outlining their vision for an eventual peace deal.
MARTIN: OK. What about the Ukrainians? Have they signed on to this meeting?
MAYNES: Well, the presumption is they will because Kyiv needs to show Trump that Ukraine's not the obstacle to peace here. Certainly, that was the case in the first round of talks in Istanbul - negotiations that were proposed by Putin amid earlier sanctions threats by Trump - although Putin then undermined these very - those very talks by sending a relatively low-level delegation.
MARTIN: Is there any reason to be more hopeful with this, this time around?
MAYNES: Well, I'd say never say never, not least because Trump has suggested he may be willing to meet with Putin and Zelenskyy to hammer out a deal. But Ukraine is already accusing Russia of amassing troops along its border for a new summer offensive. And Russia's lead negotiator has publicly drawn comparisons between Ukraine and a war Russia had with Sweden back in the 1700s that went on for 21 years. The clear message there that no matter how long it takes, we'll get what's ours. So Trump may face this vexing question that's really been there ever since he waded into the Ukraine conflict at the beginning - you know, what to do if or when he decides Russia isn't serious about wanting to end the war.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Charles Maynes in Moscow. Charles, thank you.
MAYNES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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