LOS ANGELES (OC).–Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked President Donald Trump to make peace in Ukraine the same way he did in Gaza, if the current deal holds up before the signing ceremony next Monday or Tuesday. Trump negotiated with Qatar, Egypt and Turkey to have the remaining living hostages returned to Israel in exchange for releasing some 1,000 Palestinian prisoners currently in Israeli jails. Zelensky talks out of both sides of mouth saying he wants Trump to rescue the failed peace in Ukraine, while, at the same time, running to the European Union [EU] complaining that Trump would give Ukraine a bad deal. Zelensky wants all his sovereign territory back after three-and-a-half years of war where Russian has seized some 25% of Ukraine’s best sovereign territory on the Black Sea Coast. Zelensky has refused to cede territory to the Kremlin.
When Zelensky wants Trump to resume negotiating for a peace settlement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he can’t go running back to the EU where French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer all refuse to surrender any Ukrainian territory to Russia. No one in the EU has any clout with Putin to settle the conflict, wasting time discussing post-war security arrangements when they have no peace deal to end the war. Trump was within 90% of a peace deal before Zelensky refused to trade land-for-peace, telling the EU that Trump was not concerned about European security. Trump is concerned about security for the world, ending the Ukraine War to prevent a possible spread to WW III or nuclear war on the European Continent. EU officials have falsely accused Putin of seeking European territory.
EU officials, especially in the Baltic States and Poland, have grave concerns about Putin;s future intentions, thinking that if they surrender territory in Ukraine they’ll be forced at some to to surrender European territory. Putin has never said he wants European territory or, for that matter, wants to pick a fight with NATO. “I had a call with U.S. President Donald Trump. A very positive and productive one,” Zelensky said on Facebook, congratulating Trump for his “outstanding” ceasefire plan in Gaza. Zelensky now thinks that if Trump can stop the Israeli war with Hamas, he can certainly stop the war in Ukraine. Yet it’s been Zelensky and the EU that rejected Trump’s peace plans to end the war in Ukraine. Trump said early on that Zelelsnky would have have to cut his losses and move on to reconstruct his country. That involves negotiation and compromise.
For Zelensky suddenly to ask Trump to come back in the fray to settle the Ukraine War, he must make certain pledges to Trump. “If a war can be stopped in one region, then surely other wars can be stoped as well, including the Russian war,” Zelensky said, calling on Trump to put more pressure on Putin. But the pressure that needs to be applied is on Zelensky and the EU to go to peace table with a realistic plan. It’s not realistic o expect Putin to pull his troops out of all captured territory during the last three-and-a-half years of war. Too many sacrifices have been made to simply end the conflict without any dignity. Zelensky knew there were Russian troop in Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea before the Feb. 24, 2022 war, and there will no doubt be Russian troops in Ukraine after the war ends. Zelensky and the EU act like they’re calling the shots when Putin has the upper hand.
Zelensky and the EU must rethink their current strategy of perpetuating the Ukraine War by trading blows with the Kremlin. Putin has the upper hand when it comes to holding Ukrainian territory and won’t stop the war until Ukraine agrees to negotiate sovereign territory seized over the last three-and-a-half years. Zelensky and the EU must decide whether or not to compromise, as Trump likes to say, cut his losses because a protracted war helps no one. Ukraine keeps losing sovereign territory the more the war drags on. Zelensky must decide whether he really wants to let Trump take over the peacemaking operations with Putin. No one in the EU has any clout with Putin, only making a bad situation worse. Trump has a plan to end the war and would do so with the right peace formula. Putin is not the one currently preventing a peace settlement. Zelensky and the EU must come around.
Whatever cash-and-arms Ukraine receives from the EU, it’s not enough to change the facts on the ground along the 1,200 km battle front where Putin keeps pushing deeper into Ukrainian territory. Trump has the only approach that will save lives in Ukraine and prevent more destruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure. Only by negotiation-and-compromise can Zelensky find a way out of his current quagmire. There’s no evidence that he can wage a successful war against the Kremlin, with the last three-and-a-half year proving that the conflict is frozen with Russia having the advantage. Trump told Zelensky Feb. 28 in the Oval Office to cut his losses and end the war, regardless of what he has to give up. Gone are the days when he could keep dreaming about a great victory against Putin. Now is Zelensky’s time to let Trump end the war and start Ukraine’s rebuild.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColummnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
