German defence minister says that Trump misjudged his influence on Putin

German Federal Defence Minister Boris Pistorius believes that US President Donald Trump has misjudged his influence on Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

As reported by Reuters, Pistorius said Trump had misjudged his influence on Putin after a telephone conversation between the two leaders failed to bring any progress in peace talks on Ukraine.

"I suspect he assessed his negotiating position incorrectly," the German defence minister noted in a comment to Deutschlandfunk.

The day before, commenting on the same conversation, Pistorius said that it demonstrated that Russia was not ready to make any concessions.

After his conversation with Putin on 19 May, Trump said that Ukraine and Russia would "immediately" begin negotiations on a ceasefire.

Sources told the Financial Times that European leaders who spoke with Trump following his call with Putin were "stunned" by his description of the conversation’s results.