Obvious that Trump out of his depth and being strung along by Putin
I have already referred to Donald Trump’s nonsensical assertion during his election campaign that, if elected, he would end the war in Ukraine in a day – which only goes to show how deluded the man is.
Even now, after a two-hour phone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, we seem to be no further forward in resolving this conflict. In fact, if recent statements by Trump are anything to go by, the USA might be preparing to throw in the towel and withdraw their military support to Ukraine.
After his telephone call Trump posted on social media that both sides would “immediately start” negotiations for a ceasefire and an end to the war. However, Putin has gone on record, saying that Russia is ready to work with Ukraine to draw up a “memorandum on a possible future peace agreement”.
To say that this falls someway short of Trump’s take on what was agreed during their call could only be described as an understatement. It is obvious that Trump is out of his depth and is being strung along by Putin who understands exactly how to deal with the erstwhile POTUS.
Putin has reiterated that any peace agreement will have to address “root causes” of the war, which in his eyes are, Ukraine’s desire to join NATO and to establish closer ties with Europe.
Trump said that “big egos” are involved (none bigger than his, that’s for sure) “but I think something’s going to happen. And if it doesn’t, I’ll just back away and they’ll have to keep going”. What does this mean? His sidekick, vice-president JD Vance and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, have also threatened that the USA might wash its hands of the war without elaborating.
This has alarmed Ukranian President, Volodomyr Zelensky, who was prompted to assert after the Trump-Putin call that “it’s crucial for all of us that the United States does not distance itself from the talks and the pursuit of peace”. What better incentive does Putin need to stonewall and sabotage any future talks if he thinks that by doing so the USA might abandon Ukraine?