LOS ANGELES (OC).–Meeting today in Anchorage, Alaska at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, 79-tyear-old President Donald Trump and 72-year-old President Vladimir Putin can make history, agreeing to a pause in the Ukraine air war. Trump has been pushing for peace since he took office to fulfill a campaign promise to end the war in short order. But it’s been anything but smooth sailing for Trump, even with his apparently amicable relationship with Putin. Trump never imagined that the real resistance to peace has been with Ukraine’s 47-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky who thinks that going to war with the Kremlin has no consequences. Trump told Zelensky in a White House meeting Feb. 28 that because he lost the Ukraine War he “didn’t have the cards” to dictate terms of settlement. But with Trump negotiating for Ukraine, he had the cards needed for a peace deal.
Zelensky didn’t like what Trump told him, essentially, in deal-making terms, to cut his losses and get on with the costly rebuilding process with Ukraine wracked with destruction over three-and-a-half-years of war. Instead of embracing Trump’s peace efforts, Zelensky has done everything possible to sabotage any deal Trump would make with Putin. Even though the purpose of the summit today is to announce a temporary stop to the deadly air war that has wreaked so much havoc in Ukraine. Putin’s grinding war has left Ukraine carved up with the Russian military occupying vast areas of the country. When Putin invaded Ukraine Feb. 24, 2022, he wanted Zelensky to recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, plus Russian sovereignty over Crimea. Leading up the summit, Zelensky said it was against the constitution to cede territory to a foreign power.
Well Zelensky opted to go to war with the Kremlin Feb. 24, 2022, with former President Joe Biden footing the bill. Now that Trump’s in office he has bigger priorities than just Ukraine. Trump wants peace on the European Continent but, at the same time, wants normal diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation. When Biden decided to fund proxy war against the Kremlin, it destroyed decades of diplomacy, détente, arms control and global cooperation. Biden was the only U.S. president to go to war with Russia, all over defending Ukraine. Trump recognized correctly that U.S. foreign policy and national security require the U.S. to have normal diplomatic relations with Russia. So when Trump meets Putin today, he’s let Putin know that, above all else, he wants to return to a cooperative partnership. Trump and Putin wouldn’t meet today if they didn’t have something to announce.
Zelensky continues to make disparaging comments about Putin in public, saying things like he’s not interested in peace or can’t be trusted in any negotiation. Trump hasn’t met with Putin since 2019, though the two have had several phone calls. When it comes to Ukraine, Putin has several conditions for ending the war, including assuring that Ukraine doesn’t join NATO. Trump has no problem with that insisting that Zelensky would not b e invited under his watch to joint NATO. So when it comes to negotiating for peace, Trump has singlehandedly pulled the whole process along with Zelensky kicking-and-screaming. Trump wants Putin to know that he wants a strong, mutually beneficial relationship with the Russian Federation, capable to solving world problems and promoting prosperity in both countries. Zelensky resents Trump’s desire for close ties to Russia.
When Trump says the summit is a “feel out” meeting, he’s playing to the media horde, something he wouldn’t schedule unless he and Putin has something to announce. Trump tries to keep the media guessing but it’s illogical to think he and Putin would call a summit at this time without making a major announcement. “This is really a feeling out meeting,” Trump told reporters. “Probably in the first two minutes I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” Trump said. Putin’s biggest incentive to in agreeing to a temporary ceasefire today is that Trump will end any talk of more sanctions, but, more importantly, begin to incorporate Russia into the mainstream economic system. Putin wants U.S. and EU sanctions to end, allowing Russia to return to selling natural gas and petroleum on world markets without economic sanctions.
Today’s meeting with Trump and Putin has nothing to do, as the fake news says, with Trump dictating the terms of Ukraine’s surrender. If things go right for Trump, he’ll get Putin to agree to a temporary ceasefire to allow both sides to schedule more face-to-face meetings to allow the conflict to resolve peacefully. Trump wants to fulfill a major campaign promise of ending the Ukraine War. Putin wants to return to global cooperation with the U.S. and end to sanctions that impair the Russian economy. Media has hyped the summit as a showdown between Trump and Putin, hoping Trump falls on his face. What patriotic Americans would not want Trump and Putin to succeed in ending the bloodiest conflict since WW II. If everything goes as planned, Trump and Putin should announce a pause in the air war to give both sides a chance at peace.
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.
