LOS ANGELES (OC).–President Donald Trump announcing he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for a summit in Alaska has thrown 47-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the EU into panic, declaring that nothing can be negotiated without Ukraine’s direct involvement. Well, Trump and Putin aren’t negotiating the terms of a final peace settlement, they’re simply trying to agree on a pause in the air war. So Zelensky and Putin can eventually let their peacemaking teams hash out a final settlement. All the hubbub in the fake news about Trump and Putin negotiating without Zelensky or EU input is complete rubbish. Zelensky has complained for months about all the destruction caused by Russia’s air war in Ukraine. So, Trump seeks to accommodate Zelensky by getting Putin on Aug. 15 to agree to pause the air war to spare Ukrainians more death and destruction.
If you listen to the fake news, you’d think Trump and Putin have completely ignored Ukraine, which, of course, is not true. Trump thought it best that he and Putin met privately first to get a ceasefire deal in place. Once the air war stops, Zelensky and the EU will have plenty of time to work out terms for a permanent peace. Zelensky talks of peace with “dignity,” but he’s referring to Putin ceding back all the territory he’s won over the last three years of war. Russia continues to take more Ukrainian territory, claiming they took the village of Yablonovka in the Donetsk region. When Trump and Putin meet on Aug. 15, it’s to get what everyone’s asking for, a ceasefire, at least when it comes to the air war. Zelensky can then work with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to work out an appropriate settlement.
Zelensky has publicly denounced Putin’s conditions for an end to Ukraine War. When you consider the U.S. and EU have subsidized the war, how could Zelensky be the one insisting that he would keep the war going if it’s not to his liking? Does Zelensky really think the U.S. and EU owe Ukraine to provide unlimited arms-and-cash for the indefinite future? What happens if the EU gets tapped out paying for Zelensky’s unending war with the Kremlin? Trump certainly told Zelensky that the U.S. will no longer fund proxy war with the Kremlin, only letting NATO give him more Patriot missiles to defend Ukrainian cities. But Trump has pointed out that a political settlement to the war is preferable to any arms Ukraine may get now and in the future. Only a political settlement can prevent future mishaps, not stationing EU troops inside Ukraine over Russian objections.
When it comes to a long term settlement, Zelensky continues to gaslight on whether he would accept trading land-for-peace. Right now he keeps insisting that the Ukrainian constitution prohibits him from surrendering territory. Well, did the Ukrainian constitution say it’s OK to go to war with a foreign state and lose territory? Zelensky made a choice after the Feb. 24, 2022 Russian invasion to go to war with the Kremlin. He was given the resources, cash-and-arms, to wage war, purely his choice. Now over three years later, Zelensky complains it’s not fair that he’s lost so much sovereign territory. Zelensky should read the Geneva Convention’s rules of war, where it says to the victor goes the vanquished. Russia won the territory by sacrificing blood-and-treasure. Now Zelensky thinks in any final settlement Putin is not entitled to certain territorial gains?
Putin has been demonized by Zelensky for the entire three-and-a-half year duration of the war, insisting that he has his eyes on taking more European territory. Zelensky insists that Ukraine defends European democracy when that’s the job of NATO. So when it comes to gaslighting the EU into think Putin is a menace, Zelensky has done a good job. But Putin never said he wants a war with NATO, something that would happen if he moved on from Ukraine to anywhere in Europe. So, when it comes to making peace with Putin, Zelensky sees himself as the victim of Russian aggression, wanting to give nothing to Putin in any future settlement. Zelensky resents every time he hears Trump say there will be some swapping of land to satisfy both sides of the conflict. Zelensky wants no part of Trump’s suggestion that negotiation an compromise should rule peace talks.
Complaining about the air war killing more innocent Ukrainians and destroying more civilian infrastructure, Zelensky wants a truce but only on his terms. Zelensky’s terms involve Putin removing all his troops from Ukraine and paying the Kiev government war reparations. Zelsensky also wants Putin prosecuted as a war criminal, especially for removing Ukrainian children from battle zones. When Zelensky talks about a “dignified peace,” he’s talking about Ukraine getting all its sovereign territory back. Since that’s not going to happen, Zelensky will have to compromise at some point for his country. It does Ukraine no good to continue a bloody and costly war without and end in sight. No EU officials can imagine perpetual war with the Kremlin at Brussels’ expense. Zelensky’s approval ratings have dropped as more people see the futility to the war.
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.
