Poland’s Duda Tells Trump To Force Putin ‘to Make Peace’

Polish President Andrzej Duda said Monday he is pressing Donald Trump to ramp up sanctions on Russia to force an end to the war.

In an interview with the German newspaper BILD, Duda said only Trump can force Putin to come to the negotiating table.

“America can use various economic instruments to force Russia to respect certain actions,” Duda told BILD, which is owned by the same parent company as POLITICO. “So if anyone is in a position to force Vladimir Putin to make peace, it is America, the president of the United States.”

Duda’s comments reflect the hope of many European leaders who want to see Trump use American leverage with Putin after he has so far only pressured Ukraine to make concessions, including by saying Kyiv will never be part of NATO and advancing peace proposals that would see Ukraine cede control of Crimea. The U.S. and Ukraine signed a minerals deal last week that Trump hoped would be a signal to Putin to accept his terms for peace.

Trump came to office promising to end the war between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours. Since then he has urged finding a solution quickly and has repeatedly dispatched his special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. So far the meetings haven’t resulted in Russia easing its demands.

But Trump has suggested he may soon change course. After meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Rome last month, Trump said he was considering sanctioning Moscow after Putin has continued to attack civilian areas.

Duda said Trump has “seen the reality” after recent discussions with Putin and has “the right tools to block Putin's fundamental interests.”

“He can see what his position is and to what extent he is ready to engage in serious talks about ending the war,” Duda said.

He added: “The president of the United States has the means at his disposal to force Russia to comply. Some of these means may be very radical, very harsh, I believe, especially various economic instruments. But I believe that President Donald Trump is capable of implementing them.”

Trump’s initial optimism about ending the conflict appears to be waning. In an NBC interview that aired Sunday, Trump said “maybe it’s not possible to do.” So far Trump said he is not walking away from the process, though he has said he could.

The White House has been weighing doing more to pressure Russia, with sanctions being a possible next step, as POLITICO reported last week.

Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has sponsored legislation that would impose new sanctions on Russia and 500 percent tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, gas and aluminum. The measures have widespread bipartisan support.

The Polish president also said he believes that Trump will continue to defend the NATO alliance, which will meet for its annual summit in June at The Hague. While Trump has called for increasing spending to 5 percent of GDP, Duda said he is advocating for 3 percent.

“There are different proposals, 3.5 percent, some say 5 percent. I say let's be calm: let's decide now for three percent, and all countries should act quickly and increase their levels,” he said in the interview.