How Trump’s diplomacy resembles a game of broken telephone

The discrepancies between how the US and others are interpreting Trump’s calls are adding up

Donald Trump’s shuttle diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine has at times resembled a game of broken telephone, and the US president’s disregard for the details suggests the ceasefire he seeks is further off than his bullish statements may suggest.

Consider the events of just the last week. After his call with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, Trump said that the two men had agreed to a partial ceasefire on “energy and infrastructure” targets, indicating that Russia would not target bridges, hospitals, railways or other civilian structures.

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