LOS ANGELES.—Ukraine’s 46-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky said he’s been told by European peace partners that he must include Russia in any future peace talks. Meeting in Lucerne, Switzerland June 15-16 for preliminary peace talks on the Ukraine War, Zelensky was told that the next time around Russia must take part. Zelensky pushed his 10-part peace plan, a complete non-starter with 71-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin told Zelensky in March 2020, only weeks after the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion, he was willing to cut a deal to end the Ukraine War if Zelensky accepted Russian troops in Donetsk and Luhansk and Russian sovereignty over Crimea. Zelensky rejected Putin terms, saying he would fight to the last drop of blood to oust Russian troops from Ukraine. After two-and-a-half-years of war, Zelensky has destroyed Ukraine’s infrastructure and bankrupted the economy.
Over the last 18 months, numerous countries have offered peace plans, all of which were rejected by Zelensky and 81-year-old President Joe Biden. Biden decided to join Ukraine’s war with the Kremlin by supplying Ukraine unlimited cash-and-arms, continuing that war that’s devastated Ukraine. Putin has showed undeniable tenacity if battling Ukraine because he sees the war as an existential battle with the U.S. and NATO. Zelensky has begged for NATO membership since before the war, provoking Putin into invading by accepting unending U.S. arms in Ukraine. Putin asked Biden before the war to talk about new security arrangement for Ukraine but was ignored by Biden, forcing Putin to invade Feb. 24, 2022. Three years into war, with Ukraine losing some 20% or more of sovereign territory, Zelensky now says he’s open to inviting Russia to future peace talks.
Zelensky had a chance to settle the conflict in March 2022 without destroying Ukraine’s infrastructure, killing thousands of citizens and driving millions into exile. Refusing all peace overtures, Zelensky insisted in his 10-point plan on Russia removing all troops from Ukraine and prosecuting Putin for war crimes in The Hague’s International Criminal Court. With those kinds of conditions, how could Zelensky think he’d work toward a truce, ceasefire and peace talks? Zelensky and Biden shut the door on any realistic peace talks, letting a grinding war to destroy Ukraine’s infrastructure and kill more civilians. “The majority of the world today says that Russia must be represented at the second summit, otherwise we will not achieve meaningful results,” Zelensky said, knowing that his refusal to heed any of the prior peace plans has caused undue destruction and hardship to Ukraine.
When it comes to peace talks, Zelensky made clear he doesn’t plan to compromise on any territorial integrity, especially demands by Putin that he retain territory inside Ukraine. “Since the whole world wants them to be at the table, we cannot be against it,” Zelensky said, knowing that he and his 43-year-old Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba refused to cede one inch of Ukrainian territory. Well, for Zelensky and Kuleba to prosecute their war with the Kremlin, they need unlimited amounts of U.S. and NATO cash. Former President Donald Trump, 78 and his 39-year-old running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) served notice that the Ukraine War would end in 24 hours, meaning that if Zelensky doesn’t show openness to ceasefire and peace talks, there will be no more money coming from the United States. So, Zelensky looks more inclined toward peace talks than ever before.
Zelensky thinks that China holds the key to applying pressure on Putin to get out of Ukraine. What Zelensky doesn’t get is that 71-year-old Chinese President Xi Jinping agrees with Putin that he must compromise on territorial integrity to end the war? “If China wants, it can force Russia to stop this war,” Zelensky said, sounding naïve. Xi backs Putin because he believes Western powers have threatened Russian national security buy supplying unlimited arms-and-cash to Ukraine. So, how can Zelensky possibly think that Xi would force Russian troops out of Ukraine? Russian troops were in Donbas before the Feb. 24. 2024 invasion and will no doubt be there when the war ends. “It’s a serious challenge that we can’t use all the weapons we need to stop this enemy. What would you do if you were us?” Zelensky asked the press expressing opposition to peace talks.
Zelensky can’t understand why the U.S. or NATO would restrict the use of weapons to inside Ukraine’s territory, when Zelensky needs to stop the Russian advance by hitting deep inside Russian territory. Zelensky fears that if Trump wins the election, he’s going to be forced to change his negotiating position with the Kremlin. “We cannot influence any election,” Zelensky said, despite stirring up debate in the U.S. Congress. “Of course, the United States is a challenge today. And there are risks that probably none of us can predict,” Zelensky said, referring to the November election where 59-year-old Vice President Kamala Harris battles Trump for the future of Ukraine policy. Harris seems poised, like Biden, to keep the war going indefinitely, even if its starts WW III or nuclear war. Zelensky wants to drive Russia out of Ukraine even if it means more bloodshed and war in Europe.
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.
