LOS ANGELES.–Meeting 47-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, 78-year old Donald Trump expects to sign a long-term rare earth mineral deal with Zelensky asking the U.S. provide Ukraine security guarantees against further Russian aggression. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance told Zelensky that demanding security guarantees was disrespectful. “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people,” Trump told Zelensky. “You’re gambling with WW III, and what you are doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more that a lot of people say they should have,” Trump told Zelensky, serving notice that when it comes to U.S. cash-and-arms things would be different in the future. Zelensky met with U.S. Senators that backed the Biden policy of proxy war with the Kremlin to assure Ukraine’s security.
Zelensky’s push for security guarantees runs counter with Trump’s attempts to reset U.S.-Russian relations, something important to ending the Ukraine War. What abundantly clear from Zelensky, he still wants the same level or cash-and-arms from the U.S. for the foreseeable future. How’s Trump supposed to reconcile relations with the Kremlin while continuing to supply Ukraine with the cash-and-arms to battle Russia? Zelensky essentially asks Trump, with the fake news backing him, to continue the Biden policy of proxy war with the Kremlin. Why the U.S. and foreign press want to continue the failed Biden policy is anyone’s guess. Three years of war in Ukraine has destroyed Ukraine’s infrastructure, wrecked the economy, driven millions into exile, killed thousands and lost valuable sovereign land. Trump wants Zelensky to see how he’s gambled with his country’s lives.
Zelensky’s advisers told him to push for more U.S. security guarantees when Trump is in the process of restoring U.S.-Russian relations. Zelensky can barely contain his rage against 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him a terrorist and killer in the Oval Office. Zelensky’s inability to contain his rage makes him a poor head-of-state because he’s driven by revenge not for what’s best for his country. Trump tried to tell him that a long-term business arrangement with the U.S. helps Ukraine’s long-term security with Moscow. But simply sending for cash-and-weapons, continues the proxy war that does nothing to end the conflict and begin the process of rebuilding Ukraine. Zelensky thought he could convince Trump to continue the Biden policy of supplying cash-and-arms to Ukraine. Zelensky’s trying to gauge how much cash he can count on to come to his Kiev government.
Trump told Zelensky before entering into a long-term rare mineral drilling deal that it would help Ukraine’s security by forming an active business relationship with the U.S. for years to come. Zelensky expected Trump to continue supplying Kiev with the same level of cash-and-arms seen under the Biden administration. “We have something that is a very fair deal,” Trump told Zelensky. “It is a big commitment from the United States,” referring to the rare earth mineral deal. Trump told Zelensky he wants U.S. cash “put to different kinds of use like rebuilding something not exactly on Zelensky’s mind. Telling Trump that Putin is a “terrorist” and the world need “no compromise with a killer,” Zelensky told Trump, hearing the kind of irrational rage that keeps the hot-headed leader from making peace. “Even during the war three are rules,” Zelensky told Trump.
Trump recognizes the fact that Zelensky wants no part of any peace deal with the Russian Federation. Zelensky still thinks Putin should be prosecuted at The Hague’s International Criminal Court for war crimes, remove every Russia solider from Ukraine and pay Ukraine war reparations. With demands like that, it’s no wonder that Trump wants to keep Zelensky as far from Putin as possible. “I’m not going to make security guarantees . . . very much,Trump told reporters before today’s Oval Office meeting. Trump thinks whatever security guarantees Ukraine needs, they must come from the European Union, not the United States. French President Emmanuel Macron, 47, and 61-year-old U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer talk about sending peacekeepers into Ukraine but they insist the U.S. must provide some kind of backstop for any troop deployments.
Zelensky’s hatred toward Putin is incompatible with any future peace deal that Trump could broker with Putin. All the talk of Trump selling Ukraine down the river is utter poppycock. He wants to strike the best deal for both Russia and Ukraine to stop the bloodshed that only harms both countries. Zelensky can’t comprehend how Trump can restore normal diplomatic relations with Russia when Ukraine finds itself grinding in the middle of a bloody war. Zelensky doesn’t understand what Biden did to decades of U.S.-Russian diplomacy, détente and arms control, effectively turning cooperative partners into mortal enemies. Zelensky isn’t concerned about U.S. national security, he’s concerned about prosecuting his war with the Kremlin. Trump sees the big picture that a peace dividend would help both countries and restore security to the European Continent.
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.
