Once upon a time, America practiced ping-pong diplomacy to try and improve ties with Mao’s China. Now Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are talking about organising hockey matches in America and Russia to bolster relations. Given that the two sides would be playing in ice rinks, it would be hard to say that Russia, which has been banned from the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup ever since its invasion of Ukraine, is coming in from the cold. But perhaps Putin, who has often taken part in games in Russia, will once more don his ice skates, while Trump serves as master of ceremonies.
For Trump, who prizes his relationship with Putin, it would amount to a kind of hat-trick if he can improve ties with Russia, prod Ukraine to accept a deal and get the Europeans to sign on. On Truth Social, the President described the call as ‘a very good and productive one’.
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