LOS ANGELES.–Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, 75, said that once the recent prisoner swap has been completed he will submit to Ukraine a comprehensive peace settlement. Ukraine’s 47-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky doesn’t look likes he’s too optimistic, knowing that Putin has already said he wants to collect his spoils of the more than three-year-old Ukraine War. Russian has captured some 20-25% of Ukraine’s sovereign territory in fighting, including Kherson, Zaporizhizia, Donetsk and Luhank. Putin already claims sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula seized after the 2014 Maiden Revolution. Ukraine’s pro-Western rebels seized the Kremlin-backed Kiev government Feb. 22, 2014 in a bloodless coup d’etat that drove Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych from power. Putin seize the Crimean Peninsula March 1, 2024 to protect his naval and air assets in Crimea.
Ukraine and Russian peace talks have been in limbo with both sides launching waves of drone attacks on civilian areas. Lavrov said the European Union has done everything to undermine 78-year-old President Donald Trump’s peace efforts. “We remain committed to a peace settlement. We are always open to talks . . . and let me stress that were are committed to the agreements that were achieved recently in Istanbul,” Lavrov said. Zelenksy has decided that he can’t accept any Russian proposal that doesn’t have Russia completely withdrawing its troops from Ukrainian territory. Before the Feb. 24, 2022 war started, Putin offered warned Zelensky about receiving unlimited lethal weapons from the U.S. If he persisted, Putin said he would implement a “special military operation.” Zelensky has been battling to regain his lost territory for the last three years.
Three years later, Putin has seized 20-25%, depending on who does the calculation, of Ukraine’s best sovereign territory, all because he refused to settle the conflict in 2022. Trump told Zelensky he should have never gone to war with the Kremlin, knowing the Russian army is a stronger military force. At the time of the Feb. 24, invasion, former President Joe Biden said the Russian military was near collapse. No one talks today about how Russian’s beleaguered military managed to vanquish the Ukrainian army so easily. While it’s true with U.S. cash-and-arms Ukraine put up fierce resistance, but, as Trump said, Ukraine has steadily lost more ground. Trump thinks for Zelensky for Ukraine’s sake, he should cut his losses and agree to trade land for peace. When Lavrov presents his settlement plan, it won’t be to Zelensky’s liking because he wants his sovereign land back.
Lavrov noted that some 800 Ukrainian drone attacks against Russian targets have made peace more difficult. Blaming direct involvement by the EU, Lavrov sees the EU as meddling in the prospects for peace talks. “We are certain that they will be held accountable for their share of responsibility for these crimes,” Lavrov said, referring to the EU’s direct involvement in Ukraine’s war with the Kremlin. “This is clearly an attempt to disrupt peace talks and undermine progress made in Istanbul following agreements between the presidents of Russia and the United States . . . We will continue this work no matter what provocation there may be,” Lavrov said, acknowledging the obvious, that the EU and Ukraine sabotage Trump’s peace talks. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Adriji Sybiha said he was waiting for Russian proposals on the form of talks between Zelensky and Putin.
Ukrainian officials say they would like Trump involved in direct talks with Putin and Zelensky but Trump knows that Zelensky seeks to sabotage talks by making unrealistic demands, like keeping his sovereign territory or insisting that Russian troops leave Ukraine. Russian troops were in Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk before the war, and will no doubt remain in Ukraine for the indefinite future. “We believe that this meeting could take place in an expanded format,” Sybiha told the press. “We would like very much from President Trump to be included,” knowing that without Trump the meeting would devolve into a free-for-all. Zelensky makes only disparaging comments about Putin, calling him a war criminal, insisting he be prosecuted in The Hague’s International Criminal Court. How’s that supposed to work with Zelensky in the same room as Putin?
Zelensky won’t like Lavrov’s settlement proposal coming after the recent prisoner swap has been completed. Zelensky will complain the EU that it’s getting the raw end of the deal, not realizing that Putin seeks spoils of the Ukraine War, not to conquer Kiev or the Ukrainian government. So when it comes to what Putin gets out three-years of war, he gets to keep his spoils but only his military and economic losses. Zelensky thinks after going to war with the Kremlin Feb. 24, 2022, there should be no consequences for Ukraine because the invasion was all Putin’s fault. Putin had his justification for the invasion, trying to stop Ukraine from taking unlimited cash-and-arms from the U.S. Former President Joe Biden never admitted the threat arming Ukraine posed to Russia, claiming the war with “unprovoked and unjustified.” But to Russia the war was clearly provoked and justified.
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.