Follow us on social

Diplomacy Watch Donald Trump Putin Zelensky

Diplomacy Watch: GOP hawks double down against Trump policy

Calling Zelensky a ‘dictator’ who started the war has only reenergized the president's foreign policy critics

Reporting | QiOSK

Several members of Trump’s own party in Congress have expressed frustration with his language and tactics surrounding the Ukraine-Russia peace process.

The president was elected with a mandate to end the conflict, and he repeatedly promised to do so, even initially promising an end it within “24 hours.” However, some of his comments on Ukraine’s role in the conflict, calling President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator" who started the war, and musing whether the United States will continue to support Ukraine, has emboldened critics, including Republicans who were already skeptical of Trump’s insistence on moving quickly to a diplomatic strategy to end the war.

Republican senators also became outspoken after the United States voted against a United Nations resolution this week to condemn Russian aggression.

“Yesterday’s vote by the U.S. against the U.N. resolution was shameful,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), referring to the United States’ vote against the U.N. resolution condemning Russian aggression.

“We all want this senseless war to end, but ending it on Russia’s terms would be a devastating mistake that plays right into Putin’s bloody hands,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)

Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) piled on. “I can imagine this was a strategic vote in order to negotiate a hasty and expeditious outcome to a horrible war,” he said. “I agree that Russia is the aggressor. I’m acknowledging it, and so many members of Congress are acknowledging that.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has traveled extensively to Ukraine and has been in support of prolonging the fighting to ensure Ukrainian victory over Russia, said the U.N. vote had gone too far. “I think Russia is the aggressor. I don't care about the U.N. resolution,” he said.

Over in the House, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) criticized the vote. “An independent Ukraine aligned with the West is a game changer for the United States and Europe, so it is in our interest to ensure that Ukraine prevails,” he told C-SPAN on Thursday. “It’s a black-and-white issue: Putin invaded, he wants to restore his old borders from the Soviet Union.”

Indeed, Anatol Lieven, Director of the Quincy Institute’s Eurasia Program, wrote in an RS piece this week that Trump’s rhetoric this week might be unhelpful because “it allows opponents of Trump and enemies of the peace process to denounce (process) as ‘surrender’ to Russia motivated by personal and ideological amity between Trump and Putin, rather than a necessary step to end a destructive war, eliminate grave dangers to the world and costs to the U.S., and respect the will of a large majority of the international community.”

Zelenskyy and Trump are meeting Friday reportedly to sign a deal granting the United States access to Ukraine’s mineral mining market. It is unknown whether the deal will include explicit security guarantees.

In other Ukraine war news this week:

The New York Times reports that North Korea is sending an additional 3,000 troops to fight for Moscow in Ukraine. According to the Times, close to 11,000 North Koreans were previously fighting in Ukraine and Ukrainian-controlled Kursk, but they were withdrawn after suffering heavy losses.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with President Trump in the White House on Thursday. The Guardian reports that Starmer promised to raise the UK’s defense spending to 2.5% of its GDP by 2027 and 3% by 2030. President Trump also indicated that American troops likely wouldn’t be needed as part of a security deal in Ukraine but that the United States would “help” the UK if its forces were attacked during a peacekeeping mission.

According to Bloomberg, Turkey has indicated it is open to providing peacekeeping troops if needed in Ukraine. Anonymous sources indicated that Turkish President Recep Erdogan agreed to lend soldiers from his army in separate meetings with Zelenskyy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. France and the United Kingdom have also said they would provide Ukraine troops as part of a security package.

The Washington Postreports on Ukraine’s increasingly dire birth rates and population loss, with the population dropping from around 50 million in 1991 to around 36 million (including Russian-occupied territory) today.

The decrease is primarily due to a low birth rate, war casualties, and Ukrainians fleeing the country. The U.N. Population Fund reported in 2024 that the Ukrainian birth rate had dipped below 1.0 from 2.1 in 2001. The Post says that if these trends aren't reversed, Ukraine’s population will drop to around 25 million by 2050 and 15 million by 2100.



There were no State Department press briefings this week



Top Photo Credit: Diplomacy Watch (Khody Akhavi)
Reporting | QiOSK
Somalia
Top image credit: U.S. forces host a range day with the Danab Brigade in Somalia, May 9, 2021. Special Operations Command Africa remains engaged with partner forces in Somalia in order to promote safety and stability across the Horn of Africa. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Zoe Russell)

Why the US can't beat al-Shabaab in Somalia

Africa

The New York Times reported earlier this month that recent gains by al-Shabaab Islamist militants in central and southern Somalia has prompted a debate within the State Department about closing the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu and withdrawing most American personnel. At the forefront of some officials’ minds, according to the Times, are memories of recent foreign policy fiascos, such as the fall of the Afghan government amid a hasty American withdrawal in 2021.

There are good reasons to question why the U.S. has been unable to defeat al-Shabaab despite nearly 20 years of U.S. military involvement in the country. But the scale of the U.S. role is drastically different than that of Afghanistan, and the U.S. cannot necessarily be described as the most significant external security actor on the ground. At the same time, the Trump administration has given no indication that it will scale down drone strikes — meaning that the U.S. will continue to privilege military solutions.

keep readingShow less
Hegseth Guam
Top photo credit: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth departs Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, March 27, 2025. (DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Madelyn Keech)

Hegseth goes to 'spear point' Guam to prep for war with China

Asia-Pacific

The Guam headlines from the recent visit of the U.S. secretary of defense are only part of Secretary Hegseth’s maiden visit to the Pacific. It is Guam’s place in the larger picture - where the island fits into U.S. strategy - that helps us understand how the “tip of the spear” is being positioned. Perhaps overlooked, the arrangement of the “Guam piece” gives us a better sense not only of Guam’s importance to the United States, but also of how the U.S. sees the larger geopolitical competition taking shape.

Before he landed on Guam, the secretary of defense circulated a secret memo that prioritized U.S. readiness for a potential conflict with China over Taiwan. At the same time, it was reported that U.S. intelligence assessed that Guam would be “a major target of Chinese missile strikes” if China launched an invasion of Taiwan.

keep readingShow less
Pope Francis' legacy of inter-faith diplomacy
Top image credit: Pope Francis met with Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, one of the Muslim world's leading authorities on March 6, 2021 in Najaf, Iraq. (Vatican Media via REUTERS)

Pope Francis' legacy of inter-faith diplomacy

Global Crises

One of the most enduring tributes to Pope Francis, who passed away this Easter, would be the appreciation for his legacy of inter-religious diplomacy, a vision rooted in his humility, compassion, and a commitment to bridging divides — between faiths, cultures, and ideologies — from a standpoint of mutual respect and tolerance.

Among his most profound contributions is his historic meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, Iraq, on March 6, 2021. What made this meeting a true landmark in inter-faith dialogue was the fact it brought together, for the first time, the spiritual leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics and one of the most revered figures in Shia Islam, with influence on tens of millions of Shia Muslims globally. In a humble, yet moving ceremony, the meeting took place in al-Sistani’s modest home in Najaf. A frail al-Sistani, who rarely receives visitors and typically remains seated, stood to greet the 84-year-old Pope and held his hand, in a gesture that underscored mutual respect.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.