LOS ANGELES.–Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated he’s ready for another round of ceasefire and peace talks in Istanbul, though the last two rounds of talks yielded little results. European Union [EU] officials tried to pressure Putin into direct talks with 47-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymer Zelensky with Putin insisting the terms of any ceasefire and have been laid out in the last meeting in Istanbul. Putin’s conditions for peace were rejected by Zelensky as blackmail, rejecting the notion of trading land for peace. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk all want Putin to meet directly with Zelensky, despite knowing that conditions remain unfavorable for any ceasefire or peace deal. President Donald Trump had the right formula for peace but was rejected by Zelensky, claiming it all favored Putin.
After Trump’s military mission in Ukraine, the EU should tell Zelensky to let Trump handle ceasefire and peace negotiations with Moscow. EU officials have all but declared war on the Russian Federation, leaving them with little clout going into peace talks. Only Trump has any rapport with Putin and knows, after his envoy Steve Witkoff spent several meeting with Putin, the formula for peace. All liberal news outlets, including the Associated Press [AP], blame Putin for not coming to the table, taking Zelensky’s position. But the truth is Zelensky doesn’t want peace he wants more cash-and-arms from the EU to keep fighting. Zelensky refuses to acknowledge he lost the war to the Kremlin, instead pointing to his ongoing drone war and recent attacks on Russia’s strategic bombing fleet. But Zelensky doesn’t really want to negotiate or compromise for peace.
Trump understands what Zelensky wants, calling him the world’s greatest salesperson, getting some $300 billion over three years from former President Joe Biden. Trump stopped Biden’s blank check to Ukraine, ending the U.S. proxy war with the Kremlin. Putin understands, despite their differences on many global topics, that Trump wants to broker a peace deal with Ukraine but, currently, has no cooperative partner with Zelensky. Once Zelensky denounced Trump at the Munich Security Conference, telling delegates that Trump could care less about European security, Trump and Zelensky have very little to say. Trump wants Zelensky to cut his losses, negotiate and compromise with Putin to end the war. Zelensky doesn’t want to admit to his people that he’s lost 25% of Ukraine’s sovereign land. Zelensky demands in any peace talks that Putin give him all the land back.
What doesn’t the EU get about Zelensky’s current demands for a ceasefire and peace talks? EU officials made a mistake hitting Putin with new economic sanctions when the main obstacle to peace in Ukraine is Zelensky. Zelensky refuses to cede territory he’s lost over three years of war. Putin would like to make peace but Zelensky won’t accept his terms, fearing he’d be run out of Kiev with a coup d’etat. Trump has tried to reason with Zelensky but he’s rejected any terms for peace that requires him to trade land for peace. So, when it comes to making peace, Zelensky is the main obstacle to ending the war. Putin can’t be expected to walk away from over three years of war without getting something for it. No one in the EU tells Zelensky the reality to negotiating for peace. They keeping telling Zelensky that Putin started an illegal war, now he must end it by getting out.
Zelensky likes to point to his battlefield gains like destroying Russian strategic bombers and other military assets. Meanwhile, he keeps losing more land on the 650 mile front, digging himself into a bigger hole but creating the kind of stalemate that never ends. Russia’s forces are dug into Ukraine in what amounts to WW I-style trench warfare. How Zelensky plans to change things over time in anyone’s guess? He keeps asking the EU to foot the bill now that Trump has bailed out of funding Kiev. Trump wants no part of any war with the Kremlin. Since entering office, Trump has made every effort to restore normal diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation. Zelensky can’t understand how Trump can make peace with his mortal enemy. Unlike the EU that has no skin in the game, Zelensky thinks Trump is out to sell Kiev down the river in a deal that favors Putin.
EU officials, especially French President Emmanuel Macron or German Chancellor Friedrich Merz need to tell Zelensky that he must let Trump negotiate an end to the Ukraine War or they will recommend to the EU they stop supplying him cash-and-arms. If Zelensky knew the EU would not fund proxy war with the Kremlin, then he would be forced to compromise or go it alone in an unending war. Whatever the drone warfare in Ukraine and Russia, it’s getting both countries nowhere, especially Ukraine. Russia continues to destroy more Ukrainian infrastructure, leaving the country in ruins, all because Zelensky refuses to compromise. Had Zelensky just followed Trump, the war would be over and the reconstruction of Ukraine could have started long ago. But no, Zelensky unfairly accused Trump of favoring Putin, when, in fact, he’s an honest peace broker.
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.