'Donald Trump's latest fallout with Putin is all about keeping China at bay' (2025)

Inderjeet Parmar, professor of International Politics at the City, University of London, believes a major fall out between Putin and Trump would 'disadvantage the US'

An expert has claimed Donald Trump's astonishing fall out with Vladimir Putin is all about keeping China at bay - "as we now are living in a world of danger". Trump launched into an extraordinary outburst against the Russian leader after admitting he is "very angry" and "p****d off" with Putin over his approach to a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Trump went onto threatened a 25% or 50% tariff that would affect countries buying Russian oil. “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.

“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States. There will be a 25% tariff on all … on all oil, a 25 to 50-point tariff on all oil.” Inderjeet Parmar, professor of International Politics at the City, University of London, believes a fall out between Putin and Trump would "disadvantage the US" as Trump needs to keep China at bay amid their growing influence on the world.

He told The Mirror: "Any fallout between Trump and Putin also opens the door to European intervention in Ukraine, possibly with support from China to pressure Putin, given China’s close relations and previous attempts to broker a peace deal.

"However, that would scupper Trump’s plan to divide Russia and China to prevent solidarity across the Eurasian landmass that would advantage China and disadvantage the US. The more China has access via land routes across Asia, the Middle East and into Europe, the less it needs to use US-controlled seaways in SE Asia and the Middle East.

Hence, Trump will have to calibrate his positions very carefully as his entire strategy rests on a split between Russia and China and using that relative weakness to subordinate and contain China’s growing influence.

"The virtual control over Ukraine’s minerals that the US covets is at least partly aimed at ensuring China is deprived of those rare earth minerals that are central to both civilian and military technologies and, therefore, world hegemony."

The president was pressed on Sunday if his relationship with Putin had been damaged, Trump responded: “No, I don’t think so, I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word … I was disappointed in a certain way.

Some of the things that he said over the last day or two having to do with Zelensky … he’s supposed to be making a deal with him, whether you like him or you don’t like him. So I wasn’t happy with that.”

Professor Parmar believes the threats of sanctions will not "unsettle" Russia but Trump now faces a huge "dilemma."

He added: "Trump will and has threatened sanctions of various kinds and may well also implement them – the threat itself will not unsettle Russia, I suspect. Trump now faces a dilemma: he has himself undermined Zelensky’s status, berated him publicly at the White House, and declared him a dictator. Putin is playing Trump’s own words back at Trump.

"The dangers now point towards renewed and greater conflict between the US and Russia, though that will likely be limited as the US strategically needs a ceasefire. But after last week’s European powers’ meeting, and the proposed Franco-British military mission to Ukraine and proposed further European forces to be deployed there, the 800 billion Euros proposed increase in European military spending, and the impending trade war between the EU and the US, world politics is taking a further turn towards war."