President Donald Trump revealed Monday that his effort to bring Russia to the table for meaningful peace talks to end the Ukraine war was a hard sell for one of the most important people in his orbit -- first lady Melania Trump.

Angela Stent, senior fellow at Brookings Institution, says Russian President Vladimir Putin counted on Chinese President Xi Jinping's support when he invaded Ukraine – and continues to count on Beijing's economic support and diplomatic support on a global stage.

Vladimir Putin’s conduct has prompted Donald Trump’s shift as Russia’s war effort in Ukraine has gotten only more aggressive.

President Trump has effectively handed Vladimir Putin an extraordinary green light: 50 days to finish off his brutal summer offensive in Ukraine before facing any consequences.

"We are very unhappy, I am, with Russia," Mr. Trump said Monday while in a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

“Putin will not negotiate as a loser,” one of his longtime associates tells TIME by phone from Moscow. “He knows that winners don’t get punished, and if he wins, all of this” — the sanctions, the tariffs — “will go away.”

In addition to the tariff threat, European allies plan to buy military equipment and then transfer it to Ukraine.

The contradictory stories come as Trump, finally, announces new sanctions to counter Russia and more military aid to Ukraine.