Washington administration officials suspect that several European leaders are secretly obstructing efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, Axios reported, citing its sources.
As noted in the publication, senior White House officials believe that some European leaders publicly support President Donald Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine, while secretly trying to undermine the progress that has been quietly achieved since the Alaska summit. According to the article, White House officials are “losing patience“ with European leaders, who, they say, are pushing Ukraine to “seek unrealistic territorial concessions from Russia“. According to the portal, the American leader's advisers believe that the lack of progress in the settlement "should be blamed on the US's European allies, not Trump" or the Russian side.
At the same time, the publication notes that the US "is calling on Europe to impose sanctions on Russia, including a complete halt to oil and gas purchases, and secondary tariffs on India and China."
“Europeans cannot prolong this war and support unreasonable expectations behind the scenes while expecting America to bear all the costs“, the article quotes a White House official. “If Europe wants to escalate this war, that will be its decision. But it will be hopelessly looking for defeat, squandering victory“, he added. According to the source, "some Europeans continue to act as if they live in a fairy tale world, ignoring that it takes two to tango." The article states that the White House has instructed the US Treasury Department to "compile a list of sanctions that Europe could impose on Russia."
According to the portal, Trump is also "seriously considering the possibility of withdrawing from diplomatic efforts until one or both sides demonstrate greater flexibility." "We'll sit back and watch. Let them fight a little longer and see what happens," one of the sources said. According to the publication, some US officials "have begun to see European leaders as the main obstacle" to reaching an agreement.