LOS ANGELES (OC).–Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the European Union of sabotaging peace talks to end the Ukraine War, praising President Donald Trump for working diligently toward a peace deal. Lavrov said the European leaders were not coaching Ukraine’s 47-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky to put his energy into a peace delegation to work out the details of permanent settlement. EU officials, like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, have demanded that Russian President Vladimir Putin accept a 30-day immediate ceasefire or face more economic sanctions. Merz attended a Aug. 18 White House meeting where Trump said in his Aug. 15 summit with Putin it was more productive to focus on a permanent settlement than to work out the contours of a ceasefire. Merz seems like he wasn’t listening or had his own agenda in the White House meeting.
Lavrov made clear speaking to NBC News Kristen Welker Sunday that Russia wanted peace but needs to take a different approach to the process. Lavrov said it would be fruitless to put Putin and Zelensky into a room and expect them to negotiate a peace deal. “We want peace in Ukraine. He wants, President Trump wants, peace in Ukraine. The reaction to [the] Anchorage meeting, the gathering in Washington of these European representatives and what they were doing after Washington, indicates that they don’t want peace,” Lavrov said. Why the EU has not been on the same page as Trump is anyone’s guess. With all the close business ties the EU had with Russia, you’d think they’d want to normalize relations at the earliest possible time. Lavron emphasized that Trump and Putin respected each other and were working hard on resolving the three-and-a-half-year old conflict.
NBC News’ Welker, a known critic of Trump, asked Lavrov whether Putin was “stringing along” Trump with no intent of settling the conflict. Putin and Lavrov have made clear that they want an orderly peace process where the substantive issues are settled in back-and-forth negotiations before Putin gets directly involved with the process. Pandering to Zelensky, EU officials said Putin was not serious about peace unless he met directly with Zelensky. How that helps the peace process is anyone’s guess. There are many issues on both sides that must be resolved before they can get to an agreement. Insulting Lavrov or Putin is not the way the U.S. press can help get to a peace process. Some elected officials, like Sen. Chris Coons (D-Md.) would like to return to former President Joe Biden’s proxy war strategy. Coons agrees with the EU that Putin only responds to strength.
Lavrov irks the fake news when he says that that Putin has a good relationship with Trump where both men respect each other. “It is not for the lawmakers or for any media outlet to decide what President Trump is motivated by. We respect President Trump because President Trump defends American national interests. And I have reason to believe that President Trump respects President Putin because he defends Russian national interests,” Lavrov said. What a contrast when Biden was in office the U.S.-Russian relations fell completely apart. Biden was the first and only U.S. president to fund proxy war with the Kremlin. Biden actually said March 26, 2022 that the aim to the U.S. mission in Ukraine was to degrade the Russian military to the point it could no longer wage war. Lavrov remembers those days and is glad the Trump has reset U.S. foreign policy.
Vice President J.D. Vance said that Putin has made considerable concessions to get a peace deal on Ukraine. “I think the Russians have made significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in three and a half years of this conflict,” Vance said, refuting the idea that Putin is stringing Trump along. Putin has a strong incentive to end the war and return to the economic mainstream where he can end sanctions and sell oil and natural gas commercial markets. EU officials would actually like to return to to normal oil and natural gas sales with Russia. Trump has plans to work jointly with Russia on developing its rare earth minerals, so vital to the Artificial Intelligence and other high tech industries. So, when it comes to an incentive for ending the war, Putin wants it more than anyone. Why the fake news insults Lavrov is anyone’s guess.
Democrats and the fake news show that would like to return to the Biden policy of funding perpetual proxy war with Russia. But how does that help U.S. foreign policy and national security? Zelensky doesn’t trust Trump to negotiate a fair deal for Ukraine because of his relationship to Putin. Zelensky can’t understand that before Biden, the U.S. has cooperative, pragmatic ties to the Russian federation, working on arms control and other important global issues. When it comes to the U.S. press, they look to do anything to embarrass Trump, including insulting Lavrov about Putin true intent in Ukraine. “It’s complicated, but we’re going to to keep trying to convince these parties to talk to each other and continue to play the game of diplomacy, because that’s the only way to get this wrapped up,” Vance said. EU officials should stop grandstanding and work with Trump.
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.
