LOS ANGELES (OC).–President Donald Trump, 79, hinted he would announce a new Ukraine War policy, potentially harming overall U.S.-Russian relations something he vowed to fix after former President Joe Biden trashed relations for the last four years. Trump runs a real risk of alienating 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin who, so far, has refused to sign on to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. Trump knows that if adopts Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s (D-Conn.) new sanctions bill, he could kiss good by his attempt to reset U.S.-Russian relations. Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the ASEAN Summit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spent hours discussing Ukraine, knowing that Trump would like ceasefire and peace talks at the earliest possible time, although no breakthroughs yet.
Trump has been working feverishly for the last several months with Putin trying to find common ground for a ceasefire and peace deal. He once thought his relationship with Putin would get him a quick deal but realizes there’s more to ending the war than just Putin. Trump[ has openly criticized Zelensky and more recently Putin, blaming him for increasing bombing around Ukraine. Trump thought that Putin would honor his request to slow things down to work on a 30-day ceasefire deal but instead Putin escalated the war. Trump knows that Zelensky is no friend of the U.S., already watched him throw a fit in the Oval Office Feb. 28. When Zelensky met with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, he couldn’t fathom that Trump was trying to restore normal diplomatic relations with Putin. Zelensky concluded that Trump is no ally of Ukraine if he wants to make peace with Putin.
Zelensky can’t accept the fact that the U.S. had decades of relations with Kremlin built off generations of diplomacy, détente, arms control and global cooperation. When Biden decided to fund proxy war with the Kremlin, it all but killed U.S.-Russian relations. Trump had done everything possible to build trust with Putin but now must decide whether slapping Putin with more sanctions would accomplish his goal of ending the Ukraine War. Zelensky has asked the EU and U.S. to hit Putin with more sanctions, saying Putin only respects power, not weak diplomacy. But Trump also knows that Putin has not been the main obstacle to a 30-day ceasefire deal. Zelensky has refused to cede any territory to Russia after losing some 25% of Ukraine’s best territory in three years of war. Now Trump asks whether more sanctions and arms to Ukraine would kill the peace process.
Graham and Blumenthal are convinced that their sanctions bill would put down the hammer on Putin to finally move toward a ceasefire. But it could have the exact opposite effect, pushing Putin to keep the war going until Zelensky gets realistic about peace. How does Trump plan to deal with Zelensky if he doesn’t come to grips with a realistic way to end the Ukraine War? Putin won’t accept spending over three years of war without getting the spoils of war, something he spelled out in the June 2 meeting in Istanbul. Zelensky called Putin’s “memorandum” blackmail, not taking seriously Putin expectation that he would cede Ukrainian territory to Moscow to end the conflict. So, Trump finds himself wedged between Zelensky and Putin both equally opposed to each other’s idea of peace. But Zelensky clearly has lost sovereign territory to Russia.
Zelensky doesn’t want to admit to the Ukrainian people he’s lost sovereign territory to Putin. He thinks that if he keeps the war going, he can always say that he plans to defeat the Kremlin and win back his sovereign territory. Zelensky can’t pay for the war without U.S. or EU help, so Trump recently agreed to sell defensive weapons to NATO so they can resupply Ukraine. How that goes over with Putin is anyone’s guess. But Trump finds himself stuck, unable to get a ceasefire or peace deal with Russia or Ukraine. Trump must accept the fact that Zelensky is not a friend, already sold him out at the Munich Security Conference. Trump has no ally with Zelensky, only someone who never gets enough cash-and-arms. Alienating Putin at this point would not serve the purpose of ending the Ukraine War. Zelensky shows no signs of compromising for 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.
