Russia just threw a major diplomatic punch, aiming directly at Donald Trump’s credibility as a global dealmaker. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov publicly accused Trump of continuing “Bidenism” and betraying an agreement made with Vladimir Putin back in August 2025 at their summit in Anchorage, Alaska.
Lavrov’s assessment, delivered in an interview, is brutally simple and aimed straight at the core of Trump’s political brand. “This is pure ‘Bidenism,’ which Trump and his team reject,” Lavrov said. “Yet they calmly extended the law, and sanctions against Russia continue to operate.” That’s a stinging jab because Trump has staked his entire reputation on being the ultimate anti-Biden negotiator, even blaming the previous administration for the war in Ukraine.
According to Newsweek, Lavrov pointed to two major issues behind their ire. First, the Trump administration extended existing punishing U.S. sanctions that were initiated under the Joe Biden administration, including the freezing of Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves. Second, and perhaps worse in Moscow’s eyes, new sanctions were imposed on Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest oil producers. They account for about 50% of Russia’s oil output.
Considering all of Trump’s griping about Biden, this must have driving him up a wall
Russia’s foreign minister claimed that after the Anchorage summit, they felt they had reached a “man-to-man” understanding “after a very good meeting between Putin and Trump.” He said they seemed to have fulfilled the task of resolving the Ukrainian issue and moving toward “full-scale, broad, mutually beneficial cooperation.” However, he stated that in practice, “everything looks the opposite: new sanctions are imposed.”
The Trump administration’s strategy is clearly to use a mix of economic potential and serious financial pressure to try to coax Russia into making peace in Ukraine. In the past, this has included levying tariffs on Russian business allies and trying to pressure NATO countries to do the same. Trump also imposed punitive secondary tariffs on India for buying Russian oil during the war, a move designed to deprive Moscow of an important source of demand.
This diplomatic drama is just one aspect of the slow-moving peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. The central issue remains the territorial control of the eastern Donbas region. The U.S. has now placed a June deadline for a resolution. If that isn’t met, Trump is likely put pressure on both Kyiv and Moscow to force a resolution.
Lavrov stressed that Moscow didn’t care what Ukraine or European nations thought about the negotiations; “what mattered to us was the position of the United States.” It definitely looks like Russia feels like they were betrayed. This resulting public mockery of Trump’s negotiating credibility comes just as he’s attempting to broker a definitive end to the conflict. It’s a brazen diplomatic slight that frames his signature policy as amateurish and inconsistent.
Published: Feb 10, 2026 08:37 am