LOS ANGELES.–Meeting in Paris to discuss Ukraine security, French President Emmanuel Macron, 47, and British Prime Keir Starmer,62, proposed stationing EU troops in Ukraine after the war ends to assure that Putin won’t attack again. But the real question is whether Macron and Starmer are running interference with any attempt 78-year-old President Donald Trump makes to end the over three-year-old war? Macron and Starmer can’t propose a security force in Ukraine unless 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin signs off on a peace deal. Macron and Starmer know that if Trump can’t get to peace treaty they’re going to fund proxy war in Ukraine for the indefinite future. “We do not need unanimity to achieve it,” Macron said, insisting he’ll work with the U.K. to determine the size and nature of any future security force necessary to protect Ukraine’s security.
Ukraine’s 47-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky has conspired with the EU to sabotage Trump peace efforts, claiming Trump has been duped by Putin. Speaking with Trump and his Ukraine envoy Steve Witkoff, Putin agreed in principle on a ceasefire for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and in the Black Sea but all contingent on Putin getting sanctions relief, something the EU has refused to do, demanding, like Zelensky, that Putin remove all troops from Ukraine. So, you can see that the EU doesn’t go along with Trump’s peace plans requiring Ukraine to trade land for peace. After three years of war with the Kremlin, Zelensky has lost some 25% of Ukraine’s best sovereign territory. Did Zelensky every ask anyone what the consequences would be of going to war with the Kremlin? Zelensky has destroyed his country and lost its best sovereign land.
Now he has the EU demanding that Putin remove all his troops from Ukraine, something that would never happen. Does the EU want to fund Zelensky’s war with the Kremlin, even while Trump has pulled out funding the war? “They are playing games and they’re playing for time,” said Starmer. “We can’t let them drag this out while they continue prosecuting their illegal invasion,” still stuck on blaming Russia. Whoever’s at fault, Trump has move beyond pointing fingers and trying to find a solution to stopping the war. Starmer knows that there’s no peace deal in place so how can he accuse Putin of buying time. Time is on Putin’s side since he’s the one with control over the war in Ukraine. Starmer and Macron should be working with Trump to assure a successful outcome in ending the war, whether or not it means Zelensky surrendering sovereign territory to Russia.
Zelensky cannot win the war with all the weapons-and-cash given to Ukraine over the last three years. He had the opportunity to prevail over the Kremlin in his vaunted 2023 counteroffensive that amounted to next-to-nothing. Trump recognizes that Zelensky cannot beat the Kremlin and needs to cut his losses and move on from the war. EU officials can’t have it both ways: Dictating post-war plans, while, at the same time, sabotaging Trump’s peace efforts. EU officials should defer not to Zelensky but to Trump to figure out a way to solve the conflict. If Ukraine wants the attacks to stop, it needs to enter into a legally binding ceasefire agreement that includes ending sanctions on the Kremlin. Starmer and Macron have no justification to put the cart-before-the-horse, planning a peacekeeping force before Trump has a legally binding peace deal obligating both parties to concrete results.
Brussels must be prepared to go it alone in post-war security for Ukraine because Trump has entered a new agreement with Putin to restore normal diplomatic relations. What’s he supposed to do renege on his promise to reset normal U.S.-Relations for the purpose of a future attack on the Kremlin to defend Ukraine’s national security? When does Ukraine figure how to defend its own security by learning to get along with Russia? Zelensky should think about what he’s asking the U.S. and EU to do. He’s asking for perpetual war if he decides he has to restart the conflict to get back his lost sovereign territory. If Zelensky wants more war with Russia, he needs to take responsibility for the consequences, including destroying more infrastructure and losing more sovereign territory. Zelensky currently wants the U.S. and EU to provide Ukraine’s security for the indefinite future.
Trump figured out long ago that he can’t rely on anything Zelensky says who seems out for himself because he’s made many bad decisions. Instead of working out some deal with Putin after the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion, he chose to go to war but only if the U.S. foots the bill. Now the EU wants to know if Trump will provide a backstop to an EU plan to deploy troops in Ukraine to stop another Russian military incursion. No one asks Zelensky what he plans to do to avoid conflict with Russia in the future. “Lifting sanctions on Russia right now would be a disaster for diplomacy,” Zelensky said. “Sanctions are one of the few real tools the world has to pressure Russia into serious talks,” Zelensky said. Zelensky wants to tell the U.S. and EU what to do but he has no power after losing the war. Does anyone really trust his opinion on how to get a peace deal with Russia?
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.
