LOS ANGELES (OC).–President Donald Trump, 79, expressed disappointment in a recent phone call with 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying Putin doesn’t seem all that interested in ending the Ukraine War. “I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don’t think he’s there. I’m just saying, I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too bad,” Trump told reporters after a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. Trump promised during the 2024 campaign he would end the Ukraine War in 24 hours, only to find that neither side is in a rush to end the war. Trump wants to end the war to stop the carnage and destruction to Russia and Ukraine. But, for some reason, both sides seem to want to continue fighting, likening the fight to a playground brawl. Neither side likes Trump’s metaphor with Zelensky and Putin making their own excuses.
When it comes to Russia, Putin designated a peace delegation led by Vladimir Medinsky, already meeting twice in Istanbul, but making little progress. Both sides agreed on a prisoner swap involving a thousands Ukrainian and Russian soldiers but no real progress on a ceasefire or peace talks. “We had a call. It was a pretty long call. Talked about a lot of things, including Iran. And, we also talked about, as you know, the war with Ukraine, and I’m not happy about that,” Trump told reporters. “I didn’t make any progress with him today at all,” Trump said, not sure where he’d go next. Trump has resisted calls by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and the EU to hit Putin with new economic sanctions because of his resistance to a 30-day ceasefire deal that could start a permanent settlement of the three-year war. Zelensky hasn’t shown any willingness to compromise on Ukraine’s sovereign land.
Trump was told that Russia would not change its military goals in Ukraine, according to Putin aide Uri Ushanov. Putin sees no effort to deal with underlying causes of the Ukraine War, including the U.S. and EU arming Ukraine to the teeth to battle the Kremlin. Putin knows that Trump told Zelensky, a major sticking point for Putin, that he wouldn’t join NATO now or in the future. While that a positive start for Putin, it doesn’t deal with why he initiated the so-called “special military operation” designed to demilitarize Ukraine. Ushanov said Trump did not discuss any lull in U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine. “We’re giving weapons . . . and we’re working with them [Kiev]. But we have, you know, [former President] Biden emptied out our whole country giving them weapons. And we have to make sure we have enough for ourselves,” Trump told reporters.
Trump idea of brokering a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia assumed that both countries wanted to end the costly, bloody conflict. Trump recognized the losses on both sides of the conflict with tens-of-thousands of losses on both sides. Sending his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet directly four times with Putin, Trump learned exactly what it would take to bring about peace in Ukraine. What Trump didn’t expect was that Zelensky would not cooperate with any peace deal where Ukraine was required to trade land-for-peace, something demanded by Putin to end the conflict. Putin laid out his conditions, AKA memorandum, in Istanbul for a ceasefire and peace talks. Zelensky called Putin’s conditions for peace “blackmail,” not a legitimate peace proposal. So, with Zelensky rejecting any of Putin conditions for peace, how does he expect the war to ever end?
Kremlin officials are well-aware of Trump’s frustration in working ceasefire and peace plan. Trump believes his plan offers Kiev the best possible path to peace, where Zelensky can cut his losses and start to rebuild his country. As long as the missiles and drones fly nightly hitting Ukrainian cities, Zelensky uses it as proof that Putin isn’t serious about peace. But Putin has been sending Zelensky a loud message that if he wants peace the has to get serious. Otherwise the war is on without let up. Zelensky uses Putin’s attacks on Ukraine that he’s not serious about peace when, in fact, he’s making a point that war-is-war, peace-is-peace, asking Zelensky what he chooses. Trump misinterprets Putin’s message behind recent attack, acting like he shunning the peace process. Trump has a lot of work with the EU getting Zelensky on the same page if any ceasefire or peace talks can take place.
Trump’s expressed frustration with his last call with Putin but it reflects the true nature of the peace process that has Zelensky resisting any effort to compromise to bring about a realistic settlement. While it’s tempting to jump on the EU sanctions bandwagon, Trump should stay patient with Putin, working on the EU to stop Zelensky’s refusal to compromise. Zelensky ran to French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starm, complaining that Trump was getting Zelensky a raw deal from Putin. But Trump would only get Zelensky the best possible peace deal to end a destructive war that left Ukraine in ruins, fighting an uphill battle to defeat the Kremlin. Trump told Zelensky to cut his losses and compromise to start Ukraine’s rebuilding process. If the war continues, Zelensky causes more deaths and loses more sovereign land.
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.
