LOS ANGELES.–Sitting down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the third time to discuss ending the Ukraine War, the U.S. and Russia showed they’re capable of returning to real diplomacy, despite the fake news claiming the talks were a failure. Well, what does the fake news call three years of war with the Kremlin with Ukraine getting destroyed and losing its sovereign territory? Fake news is obsessed with proving Trump can’t meet a campaign promise of ending the Ukraine War, something 78-year-old President Donald Trump said during the 2014 campaign that could be done in 24 hours. Watching the U.S. delegation sit amicably with a Russian delegation led by 75-year-old veteran Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shows just how far things have come since Trump took office. Former President Joe Biden had destroyed U.S.-Russian relations funding proxy war in Ukraine with the Kremlin.
Progress on complex issues is measured in inches and feet, not miles, with both sides sitting and discussing for 12 hours the necessary conditions for ending the bloody three years conflict. U.S. fake news presents the meetings as a failure because no joint agreement on a ceasefire was signed, something that could follow at some future point. “They sat for 12 hours and seem to have agreed on a joint statement,” said Vladimir Chizhov, deputy chairman of Russia’s defense committee. “However, this was not adopted due to Ukraine’s position,” calling the roadblock “very characteristic and symptomatic.” Chizhov wants Ukraine to agree to Moscow’s terms for a ceasefire and peace settlement, something equivalent of surrender, something Ukraine refuses to do. U.S. negotiators would have an easier time if Ukraine didn’t impose conditions for peace.
Getting the U.S. and Russia sitting at the table together is a positive sign in repairing U.S.-Russia relations, something allowed to deteriorate under 82-year-old former President Joe Biden. Ukraine’s 47-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky has done everything possible to sabotage U.S.-Russian relations. Zelensky was more comfortable with Biden considering Russia an enemy, something very different with Trump trying to restore normal U.S.-Russian relations. Trump wants the U.S. and Russia to once again cooperative on solving global problems and get back to nuclear nonproliferation and arms control talks. Biden sacrificed U.S.-Russian relations, claiming that Ukraine was a U.S. ally not Russia. Ukraine only became a U.S. ally when Biden decided in 2022 to fund proxy war against the Kremlin, ending decades of Russian diplomacy, détente and arms control.
Ukraine knows that the war still goes on while talks take place without any consensus on a ceasefire agreement. Throwing more roadblocks in the way of peace, Zelensky splits the Trump White House from the European Union that seems to support Ukraine’s position. “Instead of making hollow statements about peace, Russia must stop bombing out cities and end its war on civilians,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a statement. “Any diplomacy with Moscow must be backed up by firepower, sanctions and pressure,” showing that Ukraine is not serious about peace talks. Nothing has changed on the ground in Ukraine because Ukraine still considers itself at war with the Kremlin. If you listen to Sybiha, you’d think Ukraine was winning the war and could call the shots for a ceasefire. With an attitude like that, ceasefire talks have gone slowly.
Ukraine wants to assert itself in any peace talks, acting like it can call the shots in any ceasefire or peace talks. Talking about “firepower, sanctions and pressure” doesn’t sound like Ukraine is serious about peace talks. At some point, Trump will have to serve notice to Ukraine that the U.S. under his government no longer supports war with Russia. Whatever the EU does to support the war with the Kremlin is another story. Zelensky likes what he hears from the EU because he knows that Trump has moved on to reestablish normal U.S.-Russian relations, not try to pressure the Kremlin with threats of more war. EU officials need to figure out whose side of talks they’re on, because, as of right now, Brussels seems to support Ukraine’s desire to keep fighting the Kremlin. Trump wants a ceasefire for both parties to end the carnage and destruction to Ukraine and Russia.
If Ukraine wants the war to end it needs to let the U.S. peace delegation do its work without interference from Ukraine’s foreign minister demanding more arms, sanctions and pressure. Whether Ukraine admits it or not, the EU won’t fund the Ukraine War without U.S. backing. Trump has made clear that he’s moved on from Biden’s foreign policy of proxy war with the Kremlin. Trump has ordered his national security team to do everything possible to end the war and reestablish normal diplomatic relations with Russia. EU officials would benefit greatly by following Trump’s lead, not getting sucked into prolonging the war by catering to Zelensky’s unrealistic demands that have only continued the war. Zelensky hasn’t yet accepted that the terms for a ceasefire means that he can’t achieve his war aims of getting his land back and driving Russia from Ukraine.
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.
