LOS ANGELES.–For the first time in over four years, the Russian Federation and the U.S. sat down across a table for 4 1/2 hours in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to discuss ending the Ukraine War, but, more importantly, restoring normal diplomatic relations. Once thought impossible only weeks ago, 78-year-old President Donald Trump dispatched his top diplomats, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Special Mideast Envoy Steve Witkoff, all of whom discussed with Russian counterparts the hard realities of forging a last peace in Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine Feb. 24, 2022 to stop the unlimited flow of lethal weapons coming from the U.S. “Just a practical reality is that there is going to be some discussion of territory and there’s going to be discussion of security guarantees,” Waltz said in Riyadh, knowing that that the talks were only a beginning.
Trump has received more flack about peace talks from 47-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the EU, both saying they must have a seat at the table for the peace talks to have any legitimacy. Rubio tried to allay Zelensky and EU concerns about them excluded from preliminary discussions with Russia on ending the war. Zelensky said yesterday that he would not approve anything in which he was not involved, even though Zelensky made no effort to seek peace with the Russian Federation. With Russia decimating Ukraine over the last three years of war, you’d think Zelensky would be grateful to Trump for his efforts to stop the destruction and carnage going on daily. Zelenky had his own 10-point peace plan that included prosecuting 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes in The Hague’s International Criminal Court.
Zelensky has rejected numerous peace plans over the last three years, all of which he claims favor the Russian Federation. Now when Trump proposes direct talks between the Kremlin and the U.S, Zelensky says if they don’t include him or the European Union they they’re not legitimate. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Maria Zakharova said it was “not enough” to exclude Ukraine from NATO membership but any peace deal must include language that reverses any promises that it would consider Ukraine in the future. Putin doesn’t want a NATO country on his border, something that violates the 1991 agreement after the break-up of the Soviet Union that NATO would not move further east. Zelensky keeps insisting on NATO membership even though NATO said Ukraine did not qualify for membership because it was not a democracy and currently at war with the Kremlin.
Zakharova was not expressing anything new only that NATO members like U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said recently that Ukraine joining NATO was inevitable. So, when it comes to peace talks, Starmer needs to keep his thought about Ukraine NATO membership to himself. Besides, Starmer knows of the 27 EU countries all must sign onto the deal. Starmer knows that Hungarian President Viktor Orban would object to Ukraine’s NATO membership. “Otherwise, this problem will continue to poison the atmosphere on the European Continent,” Zakharova said. All the talk by Zelensky about security guarantees, Putin would not accept holding NATO troops, from whatever EU countries, in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, 75, expressed strong interest in any peace deal for the U.S. and EU to end all sanctions related to the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion.
Rubio told the press that at some point the EU must be involved because they continue to apply serious sanctions to Russian since the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion. Much conjecture has circulated over whether the U.S. has already offered to lift economy sanctions before any serious negotiations start. “There are other parties that have sanctions. The European Union is going to have to be at the table at some point, because they have sanctions as well that have been imposed,” Rubio said. But hypothetically, if Europe decides to go it alone with Zelensky, they would have to decide whether to lift economic sanctions, essentially following through with current economic restrictions. EU leaders must decide whether they’re willing to underwrite the Ukraine War without the U.S. EU officials seem to back certain demands for Ukraine which would all but kill any peace talks.
Zelensky and the EU must figure out how far they want to deviate from Trump’s plan to settle the Ukraine War with the Kremlin. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President J.D. Vance already said that Ukraine would not join NATO. Zelensky actually advised EU leaders to move beyond its relationship with the U.S. and specify their own peace plan. Trump has said that he wants to restore normal diplomatic relations with Russia, not only end the Ukraine War. “There are other parties that have sanctions. The European Union is going to have a seat at the table at some point, because they have sanctions as well that have been imposed,” Rubio said. Both sides agreed to appoint “respective high-level teams to being working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable and acceptable to all sides,” said State Department Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce.
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.
