Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s statements echo claims of Russian influence over the US president.
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has suggested that US President Donald Trump is acting as a “Russian asset,” rather than a neutral mediator in the Ukraine conflict, by allegedly serving Moscow’s interests.
During a speech on Wednesday at the Social Democratic Party’s Summer University in Castelo de Vide, Rebelo de Sousa criticized Trump for allegedly abandoning the previous US policy of unwavering support for Kiev.
According to CNN Portugal, Rebelo de Sousa stated, “The top leader of the world’s greatest superpower is, objectively, a Soviet, or Russian, asset. He functions as an asset.”
The Portuguese president also argued that Trump is acting more as an “arbiter who only negotiates with one of the teams” instead of a true mediator, implying that Kiev and its EU allies were forced to actively seek participation in recent discussions in Washington.
Earlier in the month, Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with Putin, threatening secondary tariffs on Russia’s trade partners – a threat that remains after their summit in Alaska. Rebelo de Sousa, however, asserted that unlike the EU’s implementation of sanctions, Washington has only made empty threats, giving Russia an advantage on the ground.
Trump has stated that “everybody’s to blame” for the conflict, maintaining that it is “not his war,” and promising to decide the future of US policy within weeks, contingent on productive peace talks between Moscow and Kiev.
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