LOS ANGELES.–U.N. High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Joseph Borrell, 76, reacted to former President Donald Trump, now a GOP presidential candidate, saying he would end the Ukraine War in 24-hours. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, 45, doubted that Trump could pull off any ceasefire and peace talks because he has not seen any peace plan that doesn’t favor Russia. Borrell is all for ending the conflict, intrigued by Trump’s secret plan to end the conflict. Zelensky and 81-year-old President Joe Biden have shown no interest in compromising on Ukraine’s demands that Putin remove all Russian troops from Ukraine, including leaving Crimea and the Donbas region. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, 71, offered to settle the conflict since March 2022 if Zelensky would cede Crimea to the Russian Federation and recognize independence of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Borrell said stopping the aggression would be a “miracle,” not recognizing that the biggest stumbling block to peace is Biden and Zelensky. Neither wants to acquiesce to Russian demands for sovereignty over Crimea and independence of Donetsk and Luhansk. Yet Russia had troops in Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk since the Feb. 22, 2014 Maiden Revolution when Kremlin-backed Kiev leader Viktor Yanukovych was driven from Kiev by a CIA-backed, pro-Western coup that toppled the Yanukovych government. Borrell walks a fine line seeking peace while not offending Zelensky who has been adamant rejecting any peace plan other than his own, making unrealistic demands. Zelensky wants Putin to pay war reparations and to submit to prosecution at the Hague’s International Criminal Court, including removing all Russian troops from Ukrainian soil.
Borrell says he doesn’t know Trump’s “magic formula” to end the war in 24 hours. Trump of course would refuse to continue funding the war, seeking an agreement from Putin to stop all hostilities, moving the conflict to the peace table. Borrell understands Zelensky’s demands but can’t speak openly about the peace process. “But I’ve heard President Zelensky has invited Trump to visit Kiev and find a solution quickly. Because the people want peace the most and strive for an end to the war are of course, Ukrainians,” Borrell said, knowing his statements irk Zelensky. Zelensky wants his way in Ukraine, accepting untold billions from the U.S. and EU to pay for the bankrupt Kiev government and prosecute the war against the Kremlin. Zelensky failed to deliver on his promised 2023 counteroffensive designed to drive all Russian forces out of Ukraine.
Borrell hints at seeking to end the conflict for the benefit of the Ukrainian people. Yet Zelensky has his demands, regardless of how many Ukrainians die or how much infrastructure has been destroyed with the Ukrainian economy. Zelensky government cannot survive without U.S. and EU funding, all because he refuses to consider multiple peace plans from China, Brazil, South Africa and others that seek to settle the conflict. “And I would certainly be happy if Trump could offer them a ‘magic formula’ to end the war in 24 h ours,” Borrell said. Facing a difficult Election Year, Biden can’t admit failure in Ukraine, trying to convince Congress to authorize another $60 billion to keep the government afloat and the war going. Biden has told voters if reelected he would continue to fund the Ukraine proxy war that’s destroyed generations of U.S.-Russian diplomacy, détente and arms control.
Zelensky’s calls for Trump to visit Ukraine are all rhetorical, to show that he entertains suggestions to end the conflict. But Zelensky knows that ending the conflict would end the flow of billions of taxpayer dollars used to fund his bankrupt government and war with the Kremlin. Zelensky knows that Putin would never submit to war reparations or prosecution in the Hague’s International Criminal Court. Zelensky knows that Trump’s plan involves cutting his funding, forcing the conflict to the peace table. But Biden and Zelensky have no real plan to win the Ukraine War, only to postpone the inevitable that Russia would prevail in the conflict. Biden and Zelensky have talked about degrading the Russian military to the point it can no longer wage war. If that’s not a declaration of war on the Kremlin, then what is? Russia shows no signs of weakening or giving up.
Borrell’s hidden message to Zelensky is take Trump’s plans seriously, because the Ukrainian people want an end to the war. Zelensky insists that Ukrainians won’t accept any peace plan that leaves Russian troops in Ukraine. Zelensky moves the goal posts once he got $200 billion in U.S. aid, knowing that evicting Russia from Crimea was next to impossible. Only after Zelensky joined Biden in battling the Kremlin, did he say he wanted Crimea back for Ukraine. Putin seized Crimea March 1, 2024 because the CIA-backed Maiden Revolution threatened Putin’s Black Sea naval base in Sevastopol, Crimea. Putin was forced to seize Crimea to protect Russia’s military assets. Zelensky gaslights the U.S. media to interfere in the U.S. election, urging voters to continue backing Biden. Zelensky wants, above all else, to keep the billions rolling into his Kiev coffers.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
