LOS ANGELES (OC).–Panicking over President Donald Trump’s upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Ukraine’s 47-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky and his friends in the European Union led by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer are already screaming that Zelensky has been excluded. So, what’s really happening in the EU? They’ve been cut out of the loop for negotiating peace at their own doing. Zelensky and EU officials disparage Russian President Vladimir Putin anytime they speak, referring to him as the aggressor or occupier in Ukraine. All that happened in 2014 when a CIA-backed, pro-Western coup toppled the Kremlin-backed Kiev government of Viktor Yanukovych. Well, there were consequences to the coup when Putin annexed Crimea March 1, 2014.
European Union officials know the history but choose to ignore it, especially now that Trump and Putin are ready to agree to a pause in the air war and freeze in the 600-mile battlefield in Ukraine. “We stand ready to support this work diplomatically as well as by upholding our substantive military and financial support to Ukraine, including through the work of the Coalition of the Willing, and by upholding and imposing restrictive measures against the Russian Federation,” said the EU in a lengthy statement. Does that sound like they’re ready to support Trump’s efforts to bring about peace on the European Continent? What’s wrong with the EU that they sound a belligerent tone toward Putin and the Russian Federation. When they speak about supporting Ukraine, it sounds like they’re taking over and funding proxy war against the Russian Federation.
Zelensky and his EU partners sound more like they’re gearing up for a long-term fight with the Kremlin, a continuation of former President Joe Biden’s policy of degrading the Russian military. Where’s the EU’s support for Trump to bring about an end to the bloodshed and destruction to Ukraine? Where’s the encouragement for Trump as he negotiates a pause in the air war and battle lines in Ukraine? EU officials have turned Russia into its mortal enemy, claiming that Putin wants to seize more European territory. EU officials know what happened in Ukraine with the CIA-backed coup. Why do they accuse Putin of starting the conflict when Yanukovych was the duly elected president, ousted by the West? Sounds like the EU statement wants perpetual war with Russia unless Putin capitulates to Zelensky’s demands to remove all his forces from Ukrainian territory.
Putin wouldn’t have annexed Crimea if the Feb. 22, 2014 CIA-backed coup didn’t threaten his Sebastopol Black Sea naval base. So, now that Ukraine’s in a fight with Russia, what does that have to do with accusations that Putin wants to take over more European countries. Putin has told numerous journalists, including former Fox News journalist Tucker Carlson, that he doesn’t seek a war with NATO. EU officials would help Zelensky more if they’d encourage Trump to work an acceptable peace deal with Putin. EU officials have burnt their bridges with Putin, essentially calling him a warmonger, looking to take over more European territory. Zelensky certainly reminds Putin often enough that he’s a threat to the European Union, requiring Ukraine to defend democracy. EU officials have to get real about ending the Ukraine War.
Trump has the rapport with Putin because since taking office he’s made every effort to restore normal diplomatic relations. Biden forgot the importance of linkage in U.S. foreign policy, where the U.S. relies on its relationships with allies and adversaries. Every president since Harry Truman worked on developing cooperative relations with Russia, until Biden decided to fund proxy war with the Kremlin. How did that help U.S. foreign policy and national security? It put the U.S. foreign policy on a limb, all by itself trying to negotiate challenges without the cooperation of the Russian Federation. EU officials have done exactly the same as Biden, alienating Putin to the point that they have no clout in any peace negotiations. No matter who’s right or wrong in Ukraine, Trump works to end the conflict to spare more carnage and destruction on both sides of the conflict.
Trump is considering the feasibility to inviting Zelensky in some capacity to Alaska. It’s doubtful he’d consider putting Zelensky in the same room as Putin, knowing the bad blood between them. Trump wants to secure the pause in the air war and freeze the frontlines at the current positions, then start the negotiation process with Zelensky and the EU. Trump is not deliberately excluding Zelensky from the negotiation process. He’s trying to do one thing at a time, first to secure the ceasefire, then to start the hard bargaining for territory or post-war security. EU, U.K. officials and Zelensky should applaud Trump for working to end the bloodiest conflict in Europe since WW II. There’s no benefit to the EU to continue to feed Zelensky’s war with the Kremlin. All countries should get behind Trump to end the war for peace on the European Continent.
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.
