In what I can assume is part of his chase for an imaginary Nobel Peace Prize destined for him, President Trump has increased his Ukrainian “peace” efforts in the last few weeks.
He claims to have ended the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and that he has been a key mediator between India and Pakistan, and between Thailand and Cambodia.
Though nobody has credited him for any of it, Trump continues to chase a “mediator role”, having invited Putin in Anchorage, Alaska. There is only one “but”: It’s all a smokescreen, and not a very good one.
Trump this, Trump that. Many “negotiations”, yet the man famous for understanding the “art of the deal” has not struck gold. One of his key promises for his second presidency had been to “stop the war that [Joe] Biden created, within a day”.
It has been 210 days, and no peace is in sight. Donny has tried taunting President Zelenskyy, even humiliating him in Washington in a heated exchange, in addition to a flurry of angry tweets, or Truth Socials, shall I say.
At Anchorage, Trump was in turn humiliated by Putin, who he believed to be his friend. He thought he had all the cards (as he told Zelenskyy), yet laid a red carpet for a war criminal on U.S. territory.
Even Fox News, usually critical of Ukraine and supportive of Trump, understood it was a humiliation. Trump appeared soft, while Putin looked stronger than ever.
Once again, Putin tricked him into a PR blunder. Yet Trump has only doubled down on his ideology, giving Putin yet another “two weeks”. Two long weeks, the longest weeks I have ever experienced, as they started back in February.
Trump has been outplayed by Putin. Every meeting, every negotiation is an opportunity for the Russian Butcher to feed his troll. These meetings never amounted to any concrete conclusion.
They are Putin’s cheap way of buying time, by feeding Trump lies he will “make efforts”. Every time there has been a negotiation table, the Russian delegation has come with unacceptable demands.
This, of course, is part of the Russian strategy. It is a never-ending cycle, in the knowledge that Zelenskyy’s camp will refuse the conditions.
At Anchorage, the Russian delegation demanded the recognition of the Russian language in occupied territories. It refused the mediation from the West as peacekeepers or deterrents, while requesting a complete removal of Ukrainian troops in Donbas and Luhansk.
Moreover, Putin’s camp demands to annex territory it does not control. Sergey Lavrov, the Russian MFA, was pictured in Anchorage wearing a hoodie with a CCCP inscription, in reference to the former Soviet Union.
For Russia, there is a clear strategy: Trump is a clown, and he will entertain the Russian crowds. There was never a serious proposition leading to peace, while Trump has become Putin’s useful idiot. It’s a never-ending cycle, which Trump and Russian supporters in the West have not understood.
Russia keeps laughing at America: While Trump talks things with Putin out, Russia doubles down on its ethnic cleansing efforts in Eastern Ukraine.
Since Trump’s arrival, Russia’s aggression has only continued. After every ‘meeting’ between Zelenskyy and Trump, Russian state-propaganda labelled the Ukrainian hero a warmongerer for refusing Putin’s unacceptable demands.
However, Ukraine will not fold. Too many have been lost, yet Russia fails to advance in Eastern Ukraine. Zelenskyy knows that not only does he not want to recognize Russia’s claims, but that it would also be unconstitutional.
Ukraine’s legislature has documents declaring that Crimea is still Ukrainian, with a similar case for Luhansk and Donbas. More than Zelenskyy, it is Ukraine who would refuse any sort of international recognition of Russian-occupied territories, be it Donbas, Luhansk, or Crimea.
Yet it does not matter for Trump. He would give any territory for his ‘peace prize’. If he could, he would give the entirety of Ukraine territory away.
Unfortunately for him, Russia cannot finish the war, because even the few advances have been slowed down by Ukraine’s defense.
Soulless soldiers, solely motivated by money, have proved to be quite ineffective. Russia has been forced to rely on North Korea, China, Iran, and Laos to keep enslaving the country to Putin’s imperial fetishes.
No meetings will change that, for Russia only understands a violent language. While Trump is trying to organise a trilateral meeting which would involve him, Putin, and Zelenskyy, this is unlikely to ever happen.
This would legitimize a Ukrainian government, which Russia has not done in two centuries. Putin is a coward, and would rather continue waging war on Europe than meet Zelenskyy a single time, especially not if he will be surrounded by his European colleagues.
There is only one end to the war, and it is not through meetings. They have never achieved anything, while Putin continues to trump Donald.
The war will be finished through sanctions, additional weapons and equipment supplies to Ukraine. Through time, it has become obvious that the U.S. have proved to be an unreliable partner. This is why Finland’s model is the one to go for: To keep buying weapons for Ukraine, no matter where from.
Russia has not advanced in three years, and that with a Ukraine forced to defend instead of attacking. Earlier this week, Azov confirmed they countered Russia’s attack in Pokrovsk, the current hottest point of the invasion.
Meanwhile, Russia has suffered over a million casualties in this pointless war. In the meantime, Trump continues to chase his ‘peace prize’ and will do anything to get it. Fortunately, he is rather powerless in that aspect, despite being the American President.
He will keep pressurizing Zelenskyy for a deal, while inviting a war criminal on U.S borders, even shaking his hands and looking up to him. For Trump serves nobody, no nation, no ideology but himself. Every ‘peace’ deal he has claimed proved to be someone else’s work, with his narcissistic interests at the center of his presidency.
Featured image via Ahyan Stock Studios / Shutterstock.
