Iryna Pohorila07:52, 26.05.25

She also noted that Putin sent the most experienced diplomats to the negotiations in Ukraine, who “can make a donkey’s hind leg talk,” unlike Trump’s negotiators, who have two years less experience at a high level.

When Russian dictator Vladimir Putin unveiled Russia’s first hypersonic missile to the world, he did so by simulating the weapon falling on a particular peninsula that bears an uncanny resemblance to Florida.

This was noted by Fiona Gill, whom Donald Trump appointed as his special assistant and senior director for Europe and Russia at the US National Security Council during his first presidential term, The Telegraph writes .

This detail did not escape Trump’s attention, whose face turned white. Gill was next to Trump at the time:

“That caught Trump’s attention and he said, ‘Why did he do that? Real countries don’t have to do that.'”

For Gill, a longtime Kremlin watcher, the episode said a lot about how Trump views the Russian dictator:

“He’s respectful of Putin because he’s really concerned about the risk of a nuclear exchange,” she said.

However, as the publication noted, unlike Trump, who, according to her, remains trapped in the mindset of the 1980s, both in his approach to foreign policy and in his musical preferences, Gill is trying to emphasize that the greatest global threat is no longer a nuclear strike, but more covert methods of warfare.

“Now it’s about critical national infrastructure and acts of sabotage, poisoning and assassination,” she detailed.

In addition, the official believes that World War III is close. “World wars are when you have global sets of conflicts that are intertwined. That’s where we are now,” she said.

Her expertise was in greater demand after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and even more so after Trump’s return to the White House. So when Trump and Putin had a “great” phone call, Gill was in a unique position to draw conclusions from the paltry briefings from each side.

Gill said Trump had done “terrible.” “Let’s give him a discount for his efforts,” she urged, as if nothing had happened, as if marking the president’s report card.

“Trump is answering the exam questions incorrectly. He thinks it’s all about real estate, trade, and who gets what, whether it’s minerals or land. However, he doesn’t understand that Putin doesn’t want a ceasefire,” explained Gill.

The publication noted that the Russian expert is well-versed in the tough tactics of Russian negotiators and the difficulties of containing Trump.

Putin, who has maintained the same “close-knit team” of top diplomats around him for the past 25 years, sent his economic advisor, former ambassador to the US Yuri Ushakov, and his comic villain, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, to the talks in Saudi Arabia:

These guys are really experienced diplomats. They all speak absolutely perfect English. They can talk the back of a donkey. They can turn you around. They have the answer to everything.”

The US negotiating team is Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, Mike Walz, Trump’s former national security adviser, and his special envoy Steve Witkoff, a former real estate developer. All two have less than a year of cabinet-level experience.

So what does the dancing Russian bear think of these three cotillion debutantes? “They’re eating the neophytes from the US side for dinner,” commented Gill.

She believes that Trump’s soft approach to the Kremlin is based on his personal idolatry of Putin and their shared belief in “spheres of influence” and “might is right”:

“Trump is fascinated by Putin and as a result becomes his slave.”

Gill believes that a US withdrawal from Ukraine is the “most likely scenario”, however, despite the gloomy picture, she is optimistic and believes that European sanctions can still bear fruit if the bloc can unite.

Trump and Putin

After two days of Russian strikes on Ukraine, Trump woke up and launched into a tirade against the Kremlin leader. Trump said that Putin wants to take all of Ukraine, but if he succeeds, it will lead to the collapse of Russia.

The head of the White House accused him of madness and the unjustified killings of civilians in Ukraine.

(C)UNIAN 2025