How should Trump deal with Putin?
Americast
BBC
4.2 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 6 March 2025
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What do we know about President Trump’s long term strategy when it comes to dealing with Russia, and where does that leave America’s relationship with Europe and Ukraine?
Justin, Sarah and Anthony get an inside view from Celeste Wallander, one of Biden and Obama’s top security staffers who has been in meetings with Vladimir Putin.
How does the Russian leader behave during negotiations, and what advice does she have for the Trump administration?
We also look at what Trump’s reset of US/Russia relations means for Europe, and the war in Ukraine.
HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Sarah Smith, North America Editor • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent
GUEST: • Celeste Wallander, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense (2022-25)
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This episode was made by Chris Flynn with Rufus Gray and Claire Betzer. The technical producer was Michael Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:04.9 | What does Donald Trump actually want from Ukraine? |
| 0:08.1 | What does he want from Russia? |
| 0:09.4 | What does he want from Europe? |
| 0:11.3 | What is the end game, if any, that he feels himself to be moving towards? |
| 0:16.9 | That's what we're going to discuss now. |
| 0:18.8 | And we're doing so in the company of someone who has been in the room when Vladimir Putin |
| 0:24.0 | has been doing business with previous American presidents. |
| 0:27.5 | Welcome to AmeriCast. |
| 0:31.1 | AmeriCast from BBC News. |
| 0:34.1 | God spared my life for a reason. |
| 0:43.3 | Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. A star is born, Elon. |
| 0:50.5 | I'm not just MAGA. I'm dark Gothic MAGA. This is what happens when the machine comes after you. |
| 0:54.3 | I'm terrified for this country and I'm so hurt that America let this happen. I think that we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United |
| 0:58.9 | States of America. |
| 1:10.1 | Hello, it's Justin in the worldwide headquarters of AmeriCast in London, England. |
| 1:14.0 | And is Anthony at the BBC Bureau in Washington, D.C. |
| 1:17.2 | And Sarah here, beside Anthony in the Bureau. |
| 1:20.4 | And just to say it's a little before 4 o'clock in the afternoon on Thursday, British time, |
| 1:25.1 | and it's particularly important to say that at this stage, |
| 1:27.6 | because who knows where we will be by 5 o'clock or 6 o'clock, etc., etc. |
| 1:31.7 | But anyway, just to kind of mark us in history, that's where we are at the moment. |
... |
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