LOS ANGELES (OC).–European Union officials continue to oppose President Donald Trump’s peace plan to end the Ukraine War, agreeing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, refusing to cede Eastern Donbas to the Russian Federation. Zelensky wants Russian President Vladimir Putin, after nearly four years of war, to give back some 25% of Ukrainian sovereign territory seized since the war started Feb. 24, 2022. Putin has been crystal clear with Zelensky and the EU that if they want peace they need to cede Donetsk and Luhansk to the Russian Federation. In any peace plan, including Trump’s, Putin wants Ukrainian troop out of Donetsk and Luhnask, the same offer he made Zelensky in March 2022. EU officials led by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer want to use frozen Russian assets to fund the war.
Brussels admitted that it doesn’t have the cash reserves to fund a perpetual war with the Kremlin, pushing for confiscating Russian assets to give to Zelensky. Zelensky wants the frozen Russian assets to fund his cash-strapped Kiev government and the war. Belgium Prime Minister Bar De Wever, who controls most of Russia’s $200 billion in frozen Russian assets, vehemently opposes confiscating cash from from Russia to fund the Ukraine War. “Any operation with sovereign Russian assets without Russian consent constitutes theft,” said Russian diplomat Sergei Nechaev, warning of dire consequences.”It is also clear that the theft of Russian state funds will have far-reaching consequences,” Nechaev said. Macron, Merz and Starmer want to use $80 billion in Russian assets to pay for the Ukraine War, so Zelensky doesn’t have to surrender land to Moscow.
After nearly four years of war, there’s no reason to believe that more cash-and-arms given to Kiev would change the outcome of the war. Russia has proven that its superior army and military resources are too much for Ukraine to beat no matter how much cash-and-arms they get from the U.S. and EU. Trump told Zelensky Feb. 28 in a spat in the Oval Office that he didn’t have the cards to call the shots in any peace deal. Trump told Zelensky it was a mistake Feb. 24, 2022 to go to war with the Kremlin, knowing it would only end badly. Zelensky has watched the death-and-destruction for nearly four years but chooses to keep the fight going. Getting the backing from the EU has kept the war going when it should have ended years ago in settlement. Nechaev said confiscating Russian assets would be an “unprecedented step” that would destroy the EU’s business reputation.
Nechaev said stealing Russian assets to pay for the Ukraine war could “destroy the business reputation of the European Union and plunge European government into endless lawsuits.” Belgium Prime Minister Bart De Wever completely agrees, fight Macron, Merz and Starmer’s push to use frozen Russian assets. “In reality, it is a path to legal anarchy and the destruction of the foundations of the global financial system, which will primarily strike the European Union,” Nechaev said. Instead of figuring out how to drum up cash for Zelensky, the EU should work with Trump on finding a settlement that ends the war. Putin has made clear what he expects in any long-term settlement. Zelenky wants security guarantees from Trump that would be the equivalent of NATO Article 5, where it Russia attacks, all NATO countries defend Ukraine.
Trump has been reluctant to extend NATO Article 5 protection to Ukraine because he wants to continue restoring normal U.S.-Russian relations. Zelensky liked it when former President President Joe Biden joined his war with the Kremlin. Biden was the first and only U.S. president to go to war with Russia, all to defend Ukraine. Ukraine has no national security significance to the U.S. but Russia does. Since the atomic age, the U.S. and Russia have worked on nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. Biden ended all arms control and global cooperation with Russia, prompting Trump to restore relations. If Ukraine and Russia have future problems, Trump doesn’t want the U.S. to go back to war with the Kremlin. Zelensky needs to make a peace deal with Putin and figure out how to get along on the Russian border without threatening the Kremlin taking arms from the West.
Zelensky has been getting bad advice from the EU about continuing the Ukraine War with the hope of getting back his lost sovereign territory. Putin has made many sacrifices over the last four years of war to walk away without any spoils. Ceding Putin Donetsk and Luhansk is exactly the same deal Putin offered in March 2022 before the war escalated into a destructive mess for Ukraine. Zelensky talks about Putin’s terrorist attacks on Ukraine’s civilian population. But Zelensk could have ended the war years ago by making concessions to Russia to end the war. “Belgium’s particular concerned about the question of utilizing frozen Russian assets is undeniable and must be addressed in any conceivable solution in such a way that resources and needs to settle the conflict. all European states bear the same risk,” said Merz, knowing the EU has dwindling resources and needs to settle the conflict.
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.
