LOS ANGELES.–Russia President Vladimir Putin, 72, said he was open to direct peace talks with 47-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, despite ongoing strikes that continue to hammer Ukraine’s civilian population. Putin offered a 30-hour Easter truce, though Kiev said the truce was broken several times during the Easter holiday. Putin said he “always looked positively on any peace initiatives. We hope that representatives of the Kiev regime will feel the same way,” Putin said, knowing that unsupervised talks with Zelensky would be difficult. Zelensky tried peace talks with 78-year-old President Donald Trump that went badly when Zelensky went ballistic in the Oval Office, arguing with Trump and 40-year-old Vice President J.D. Vance. So, getting Putin and Zelensky in the same room without some unfortunate incident would be unlikely anytime soon.
Ending the Ukraine War has not been a top priority for Zelensky who seems content to keep the war going indefinitely as long as the U.S. or European Union pays for it. U.S. officials would have to be in the same room to discuss anything related to the war without Zelensky losing control of himself. Since the war started Feb. 24, 2022, several countries proposed peace plans, all of which rejected by Zelensky, claiming they favored Russia. All the plans, whether from China, Brazil or South Africa, concluded that Zelensky would have to trade land-for-peace to get any peace deal. Zelensky had his own peace proposal that demanded that Russia remove all its troops from Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula. Putin, of course, finds Zelensky’s plan unrealistic, considering three years of war have lost some 25% of Ukraine’s best sovereign territory on the Black Sea coast.
Once Trump came to office, Zelensky switched tactics, running to the EU saying that Trump was no longer concerned about European security, was trying to negotiate a peace deal that did not include Kiev. EU officials, especially Germany and France, have sided with Zelensky that Kiev and the EU must be consulted in any peace deal. Trump was the only one pushing for peace, trying to fulfill a campaign promise to end the war quickly after taking office. Zelensky accuses Putin of “deliberate Russian terror” that could be “stopped by a single order,” meaning Putin could stop it at any moment. But Zelensky doesn’t acknowledge that there’s no ceasefire or peace deal in place to stop the attacks. Trump has worked feverishly, with the special envoy Steve Witkoff, to end the conflict, getting a clear picture on what Putin wants to end the three-year old conflict.
Putin’s peace overtures, agreeing to meet with Ukraine directly, shows a definite change of heart, all because he knows that the U.S. under Trump no longer supports proxy war with the Kremlin. Part of Putin’s motivation for the war involved a perception that the Western Alliance was out to topple his Kremlin government. What was Putin supposed to think about the U.S. role in the Ukraine War? Former President Joe Biden, 82, and his 72-year-old Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in 2022 that the aim of the Ukraine War was to degrade the Russian military to the point it could no longer wage war. If that wasn’t a declaration of war, then what was? All the motivation for Putin has vanished with Trump restoring normal diplomatic relations. Trump wants more than an end to the war, he want to resume normal diplomatic relations with the Kremlin, working together as global partners.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Putin interest in moving the conflict to the peace table. “When the president said that it was possible to discuss the issue of not striking civilian targets, including bilaterally, the president had in mind negotiations and discussions with the Ukrainian side,” Peskov told the Russian Interfax news agency. Zelensky proposed continuing the Easter ceasefire that would “cease any strikes using long-range drones and missiles on civilian infrastructure for a period of at least 30 days,” showing that he’s interested in a long-term ceasefire and peace talks. “If Russia does not agree to such a step, it will be proof that it wants to continue doing only things that destroy people’s lives and continue the war,” Zelensky said, showing an openness to end the conflict. When it comes down to real compromises to end the war it remains unclear.
Only with U.S. supervision in ceasefire and peace talks can the two sides reach a mutually agreeable settlement to the Ukraine War. Zelensky hasn’t showed any real signs that he wants to end the conflict, asking the EU to take over funding where the U.S. left off. Trump has made clear to Zelensky he no longer supports proxy war against the Russian Federation and will not fund the war any longer. Biden and his former VP Kamala Harris said they would have supported proxy war indefinitely but now sees the wisdom of Trump position. Democrats and the corrupt U.S. press have slammed Trump for not delivering on his campaign promise to end the war. But any objective analysis knows that Trump has been working day-and-night to end the conflict with direct talks with Putin and Zelensky. Zelensky has proved the biggest obstacle to peace, not Putin.
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.
