Putin's inner circle opposes Trump's peace proposals, Russian president forced to continue war

Despite the strain on Russian resources from the war against Ukraine, the Kremlin remains confident in its resilience against sanctions, believing it can sustain the conflict for at least another year, The Wall Street Journal reported.

This comes as U.S. President Donald Trump makes initial attempts to bring Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.

Putin's inner circle reportedly considers Trump's threats empty. While Russia faces human and economic losses in the war, analysts argue that the country still has sufficient resources to continue fighting, with an advantage in the conflict.

With no new U.S. aid package for Ukraine under consideration, Trump's warnings seem insufficient to persuade Russia to alter its core demands, which include the recognition of occupied territories as Russian, severing ties between NATO and Ukraine, and a significant reduction of the Ukrainian army.

Moscow views Trump's statements on Truth Social as posturing rather than substantive negotiation and awaits more serious actions from Washington. Analysts suggest that Putin likely sees Trump's remarks as a tactic by the U.S. president to reinforce his base and project a tough stance against America's adversaries.

"Putin perceives these statements as part of a political game," WSJ quotes political scientist Tatiana Stanovaya, who maintains contacts with Kremlin insiders.

“He does not take them seriously... He is ready for any scenario and harbors no illusions that a deal will be reached quickly.”

Putin seeks a comprehensive geopolitical agreement akin to the Yalta Conference, which divided post-World War II Eastern Europe into Soviet and Western spheres of influence, essentially a "Yalta 2.0."

On Jan. 20, Trump criticized Putin for "ruining Russia" by not making a deal and warned of "big problems" for the aggressor state if no agreement is reached. On Jan. 22, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump tasked special envoy Keith Kellogg with ending the war within 100 days.

Trump wrote on Truth Social on Jan. 22 that he would impose high tariffs and sanctions on Russian goods if the war does not end.

He also planned to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower oil prices, which he claimed would lead to the "immediate" end of the war.

“With all of this in mind, I want to do Russia, whose economy is collapsing, and President Putin a great favor,” Trump wrote.

“Make a deal now and end this senseless war! IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE. If we don’t make a ‘deal’ soon, I will have no choice but to impose high tariffs, duties, and sanctions on everything Russia sells to the United States and other involved countries.”