LOS ANGELES.–Russian President Vladimir Putin, 72, said he’s open to direct talks with Ukraine’s 47-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky, something not likely to take place. Zelensky issued a edict in 2022 prohibiting him from direct talks with Putin because of war crimes. Zelensky filed criminal charges against Putin in The Hague’s International Criminal Court [ICC], putting arrest warrants for Putin. “During yesterday’s talks with (U.S. President Donald)Trump’s envoy Witkoff, Vladimir Putin confirmed that the Russian side is ready to resume the negotiation process with Ukraine without preconditions,” said Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Putin challenges Zelensky who said publicly he would never engage Putin in direct talks because he’s a war criminal. Putin now challenges Zelensky to change his edict, opening up direct talks.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Zelensky is ready for an unconditional ceasefire. “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire,” Macron wrote on X. Macron, once the EU’s closest leader to Putin, now encourages Zelensky to take a tough position on peace talks. Zelensky has been resistant to accept that after three-years of war, he has destroyed Ukraine’s infrastructure, killed thousands, exiled millions and lost 25% of Ukraine’s best sovereign territory, yet he’s reluctant to admit what he’s done to his country. Trump wants to save Ukraine from Zelensky’s bad decision making largely built around knee-jerk patriotism that seeks to expel Russia from every inch of Ukraine’s sovereign territory. Zelensky know that continuing the war has no advantage to Ukraine if the U.S. and EU don’t foot the bill. Ukraine has no resources to keep the war going.
Putin wants Zelensky to renege on his ban of meeting the Russian leader directly for direct talks, regardless of all the talk about Putin as a war criminal. Trump has played Zelensky and Putin off each other, realizing the both leader show resistance to end the war. Zelensky wants to continue the war as long as the U.S. and EU foot the bill. Putin wants to continue the war to show he won’t acquiesce to the U.S. and NATO’s demands. But Putin has only recently figure out that he’s no longer at war with the U.S. Trump has made clear to Putin that restoring normal diplomatic relations with the Kremlin is the top priority. So, when Trump says maybe Vladimir doesn’t really wants to end the war, he’s really telling Zelensky that a peace deal isn’t easy to accomplish. His message to Putin has been simple through all the recent talks in St. Petersburg on Ukraine: There’s no need for war.
Trump has Zelensky to the point now that he understands that the only formula for ending the war is swapping land-for-peace. Zelensky worries that if he gives away too much sovereign land it peace talks, he’ll be chased out of office. On the other hand, if he admits to Ukraine’s losses over the last three years of war, he also could invite a coup d’etat. “We discussed a lot one on one,” Zelensky said of his time with Trump in St. Peters’ Basilica on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral. Zelensky’s meeting was a good sign that Zelensky has finally come around to Trump’s position on a peace deal: Better to have a deal than no deal. Zelensky once thought holding out for more land returned by Putin would be the right thing to do. Now he knows that, as Trump advocates, it’s best to get a peace deal with Putin, than continue the costly and reckless war.
Zelensky has come full circle to the point that he’s grateful that Trump still gives him the opportunity to make peace. He knows that Trump has devoted a lot of time with Russia on hashing out a workable peace deal, one that can stop the bloody conflict. Putin foreign policy adviser Yuri Uksakov said Zelensky must revoke his decree banning direct talks with the Kremlin. Whether he speaks directly to Putin or not, Ushakov still expects the Ukrainian leader to show respect to the Russian president. Zelensky said his talks with Trump in Rome were “constructive and quite useful,” knowing Trump’s position that Russia would retain Crimea in any peace deal. Zelensky was once adamant that he wanted all Russian troops out of Ukraine. He once insisted that Russia give Ukraine back Crimea. But after months of negotiations, he knows he must swap land-for-peace.
Zelensky understands that completing a long-term rare earth mineral deal is his best bet for post-war security. He certainly knows that Trump won’t guarantee post-war security to Ukraine like an “Article 5” NATO-like security deal. Zelensky’s best security for long-term peace is having a strong U.S. business presence in Ukraine, working on rare earth minerals and letting U.S. firms rebuild his battered infrastructure. Zelensky once expected under Biden that the U.S. would be an enemy of the Kremlin, especially while funding proxy war with Russia. How ironic that Trump’s new diplomatic ties with Russia only helps Ukraine’s future security. Putin knows he can count on Trump to continue developing strong bilateral ties with Moscow. Gone are the days of Biden’warmongering toward Russia, leaving Trump a real legacy of global peacemaking.
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.
