Trump administration dissolves group tasked with pressuring Russia to end invasion – media
The administration of US President Donald Trump has in recent weeks suspended the activities of an interagency working group that was created to develop pressure strategies on Russia in order to accelerate peace talks with Ukraine, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
According to the Reuters news agency, citing sources among US officials, the initiative was initiated and coordinated by senior officials of the National Security Council, although representatives of the State Department, the Treasury Department, the Pentagon and intelligence agencies also joined it. Among those working on the initiative was Andrew Peek, the top NSC official for Europe and Russia, who was dismissed from his post in May.
"It lost steam toward the end because the president wasn't there. Instead of doing more, maybe he wanted to do less," Reuters said, citing sources among US officials.
Trump has reportedly become increasingly frustrated in recent months with the lack of results in his efforts to end the war in Ukraine, and has begun to suggest that the United States may abandon attempts to mediate peace altogether.
The final blow to the task force came about three weeks ago when most members of the White House National Security Council, including the entire team directly involved in the war in Ukraine, were fired in a sweeping purge, according to three officials.
The group's dissolution also follows the March suspension of work by some US national security agencies on coordinated countermeasures against Russian subversion and disinformation operations.
