Trump wants to influence Putin with the World Cup

After unsuccessfully imploring Putin on Truth Social to halt his attacks against Ukraine in the midst of talks, Trump is now taking a new stance, in the prospect of convincing the Russian president to end the war triggered by his invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

This strange proposal from the President of the United States comes at a time when he has been desperately trying for several weeks to conclude a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

With pressure mounting around one of his campaign promises to end the war in Ukraine on his first day in the White House, Trump is now suggesting that Vladimir Putin might consider stopping his bloody attacks if Russia secured a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The country was suspended from competitions by FIFA and UEFA after its illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

While Donald Trump was, according to the New York Times, in discussion with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, he expressed surprise to learn that Russia had been excluded from the World Cup and could not be reinstated until it put an end to its senseless aggression against Ukraine.

The President of the United States seems to be desperately looking for any leverage he can find to bend Vladimir Putin’s position, whereas all the Trump administration’s initiatives on this issue have so far ended in failure. Vice President JD Vance admitted that Russia is «asking for too much» to end the war with Ukraine.

A form of frustration is now spreading through the ranks of the administration, which, after initially blaming Ukraine at the start of the talks, is beginning to admit that Moscow may bear a heavier share of the responsibility for prolonging the conflict.