LOS ANGELES.–Meeting in Beijing today, 75-year-old Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and 71-year-old Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed ending the Ukraine War, the same subject Lavrov discussed with 53-year-old Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. President Donald Trump, 79, has certainly put ending the Ukraine War on the minds for foreign leaders, including Lavrov who said he came up with a new idea talking with Rubio to end the war. Trump has been disappointed with 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin who hasn’t let up at all in his bombardment of Ukraine. While Trump takes Putin’s aggression personally, Putin wants to send a loud message to Ukraine’s 47-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky that if you want war, you’ve got war. But if you want peace, there’s another way to solve the over three-year old conflict.
Lavrov and Rubio just finished attending the Conference of South Asian Nation, meeting on the side lines for several hours to discuss Ukraine, but, more importantly, Trump’s feelings that Putin has ignored his request to tamp down the war so a ceasefire was possible. Trump finds himself caught between a rock-and-a-hard-place dealing with Zelensky, who, at one time, considered the U.S. his No. One ally. But since Trump took office, he’s worked hard on restoring normal U.S.-Russian diplomatic relations. Under former President Joe Biden, Russia had become a mortal enemy of the U.S. funding proxy war in Ukraine. Trump stopped Biden’s proxy war, refusing to give Zelensky a blank check, changing the direction of U.S. foreign policy. Biden ended decades of diplomacy, détente, arms control and global cooperation, turning the U.S. and Russia into bitter enemies.
Meeting in Beijing with Wang Yi, Lavrov is due to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization [SCO] with foreign ministers around the globe. Lavrov maintains close ties to China and North Korea, both supply valuable help in the Ukraine war, especially North Korea who actually committed some 10,000 troops in the Kursk region. Zelensky invaded the Kursk region Aug. 8, 2024 in a surprise attack to capture key Russian territory. Zelensky thought he’d divert attention away from the 600-mile front where Putin has made considerable progress in capturing sovereign Ukrainian territory. North Korea helped Putin reclaim the Kursk border region, now free of all Ukrainian troops. Putin was certainly caught off guard by Zelensky surprise incursion into Kursk. Lavrov and Yi discussed the current state of affairs in the Ukraine War and plans for a ceasefire.
Lavrov and Yi know how much Trump is invested in ending the Ukraine War. He’s been accused by Zelensky of selling Ukraine down the river, favoring a settlement for Putin. Zelensky was so convinced he received a raw deal with Trump, he went to the European Union for support his position of driving Russian forces out of Ukraine. Putin has no intent to pulling out his troops until Zelensky settles up the spoils of war. Putin wants Zelensky to surrender Kherson, Zaporizhizhia, Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea, all of which spoils of war. Putin seized Crimea March 1, 2014 when a CIA-backed, pro-Western coup toppled the Kremlin-backed Kiev government of Viktor Yanukovych. Putin hosted the Sochi Winter Games at the time but wasted no time annexing Crimea to protect his Black Sea naval base. Zelensky refuses to cede any territory to Putin after three years of war.
Russia and China discussed how global cooperation with SCO, BRICS, the G20 and APEC was important to the two countries. “The importance of strengthening close coordination between the two countries in the international arena, including the United Nations and its Security Council, the SCO, BRICS, the G20 and APEC,” said Yi were important to the global order. China and Russia professed no limits to their partnership, after Biden shunned the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, driving a closer bond between Beijing and Moscow. Consequences of Biden’s foreign policy with China and Russia were catastrophic, something Trump aims to fix. When it comes to Ukraine, Trump sees a peace deal that works for Russia and Ukraine his top priority. Ending the Ukraine War a top priority for his administration, a key 2024 campaign promise.
Trump has the right idea when it comes to restoring U.S.-Russian and U.S.-Chinese relations, something Biden worked hard to trash. Improving diplomatic relations with Russia requires Trump to exercise caution when it comes his next move with Ukraine. If Trump decides to join EU sanctions against Putin or supply Ukraine more weapons, he walks a fine line with the Kremlin. Trump was on the right track working out a peace deal with Putin, knowing that Zelensky would go to the peace table kicking-and-screaming. Zelensky likes when German Foreign Minister Friedrich Merz says he wants to defend Ukraine, maybe supply Kiev with German-made Taurus long-range missiles. Trump opposes the move, knowing it would set back the peace process indefinitely. Zeleny has adopted a new strategy to striking deep inside Russian territory. Taurus missiles would set back 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.
