"But the longer it drags out peace talks on Ukraine, the more Russia risks losing U.S. President Donald Trump's favor and missing a key window of opportunity to strike a bigger deal with Washington, sources said.

On Sunday, Trump told NBC News he was "very angry" and "pissed off" with President Vladimir Putin for attacking Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky's credibility and calling for new leadership in Kyiv."

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"The hawks are dominating" the president's inner circle, he noted.

"Even the smallest concession now would be seen as a gift not to Trump, but to Zelensky. That's unacceptable to Putin," the diplomat said.

Putin "acts in full accordance with Machiavelli's advice " protect what's yours, generously give away what isn't. He's ready to offer Canada and Greenland to Trump in exchange for Ukraine and Europe," Boris Bondarev, a former Russian diplomat who resigned from Moscow's UN mission in Geneva in protest of the invasion, told The Moscow Times.

The Kremlin understands it must offer Trump at least a symbolic gesture to maintain his interest. One such attempt was the renewal of the Black Sea grain deal, which the American side announced with a great deal of fanfare.

However, that effort failed, a Russian diplomat said."

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Speaking to NBC News on Sunday, Trump threatened to hit Moscow with secondary tariffs if the peace talks on Ukraine fall through.

"if Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia's fault " which it might not be " but if I think it was Russia's fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia," Trump said."

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There's lots more of the Russian reasoning for what they are doing.... what they think they can get away with... at the thread link.