LOS ANGELES (OC).–Ukraine’s 47-year-old PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky asked that Russian President Vladimir Putin resume a third-round of peace talks in Istanbul. Two rounds of prior talks were brief, offered nothing concrete, but did manage to exchange 1,000 prisoners on both sides of the conflict. “Security Council Secretary Umerov . . . reported that he had proposed the next meeting with Russian side for next week,” Zelensky said in high nightly address. “The momentum of negotiations mus be stepped up,” Zelensky said, referring to strong warnings by President Donald Trump to bring both sides to the table. Trump gave Putin 50 days to conclude the war, saying it was plenty of time to resolve any outstanding issues, with both sides separated by a wide gulf. Putin released his “memorandum” June 2 in Istanbul, the conditions for a ceasefire and lasting peace.
Zelensky promptly rejected Putin’s peace offer, calling it “blackmail,” especially on the issue of ceding sovereign land to Russia. After over three years of war, Zelensky wants the 25% of sovereign territory returned to Kiev in any ceasefire and peace talks. Putin called Zelensky’s demands unrealistic, calling on the Ukrainian president to come up with a realistic peace plan that accommodates both sides. Putin wants Zelensky to stop getting arms from the U.S. and NATO, not something likely to happen. But when it comes arms, former President Joe Biden gave Zelensky for three years a blank check to battle the Kremlin, all but destroying U.S.-Russian relations. Putin came to see the Ukraine War as one between the U.S. and Russia, not Ukraine and Russia. Putin saw U.S. involvement as an existential threat to the Russian regime, demanding the U.S. stop arms shipments.
Trump has pushed both sides to get a peace deal done, primarily to stop the carnage and destruction to both countries. Since taking office, Trump made it a priority to restore normal diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation, something that necessitated reversing the Biden proxy war strategy with the Kremlin. When Zelensky met with Trump Feb. 28 in the Oval Office, the Ukrainian leader was angry about Trump seeking to improve U.S.-Russian relations. Zelensky thought that if Trump wanted peace with Russia, he was not ally of Ukraine. Zelensky couldn’t see the long history of U.S.-Russian relations, dating back to the end of WW II. Every U.S. president since WW II, except Biden, worked on improving U.S.-Russian relations. Funding proxy war with the Kremlin all but destroyed relations with Moscow. Trump aimed to get the relationship back on track.
Trump seemed to get tough with Putin over his continuous aerial bombardment, killing more civilians and destroying more infrastructure. Trump thought because he discussed a ceasefire with Putin he was open to deescalating the war but actually he wanted to drive the message home with Zelensky that he’s still at war. Trump agreed reluctantly to growing demands from war hawks on Capitol Hill to give Ukraine more Patriot missiles to defend Ukraine’s air space. Trump agreed only to supply Patriot Missiles to NATO who would buy them to supply Ukrane was more air assets. Trump refuses to given anything to Ukraine, knowing it walked a find line with the Kremlin about him getting back involved with proxy war. Trump made clear that he wanted to help Zelensky’s current dilemma enduring more air strikes without a way to defend them.
Asking for new peace talks, it’s hard to know whether or not Zelensky is playing games, knowing he would reject all of Putin’s conditions for peace. Zelensky knows that Ukraine is under constant bombardment because he’s not showing any signs he’s willing to compromise with Putin to end the conflict. Ending the conflict would require Zelensky to cede at least some of the sovereign territory lost in over three years of war. Since the EU played a more active role in defending Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer have made more demands on Putin. EU officials, so far, agree with Zelensky that he shouldn’t have to surrender sovereign territory after over three years of war. Trump, and many other military experts, believe that a settlement can only come when Zelensky trades land-for-peace.
Time will tell whether or not Zelensky is serious about any realistic peace talks. Trump told him directly in the Oval Office Feb. 28 he needed to cut his losses, end the war and starting the rebuilding process, something the U.S. is pledged to do. But for that to happen, Zelensky must cede at least some of Putin’s territory seized during the over three-year-war. Putin said he wanted Kherson, Zaporizhizhia, Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea. What’s ironic is that if Zelensky negotiated a deal with Putin in 2022, he would have settled for Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea, leaving Zelensky with Kherson and Zaporizhizhia. If the war doesn’t stop soon, Putin will control more towns and villages in Dnipropetrovsk province. So, the longer the war rages on the more sovereign territory Zelensky stands to lose. Trump’s plan to cut losses turns out to be the prophetic thing to do.
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.
