FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
They should stop where they are. Let them both claim victory, let history decide.
The week began with a diplomatic breakthrough and a (fragile) ceasefire in a years-long war. It ends with another conflict stuck in a bloody and frustrating rut. Donald Trump has made it his mission to bring peace to both sides. But the deal to stop the fighting in Gaza and return the last Israeli hostages alive was reached in part because Trump used his influence to push both sides to make concessions. The president’s willingness to exert maximum pressure to achieve peace has not extended to Russia, enabling President Vladimir Putin to continue waging war.
Trump boasted a lot that the conflict in Ukraine would be easy to resolve. That didn’t seem to be the case yesterday. He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House and called for an end to the war, but refused, at least for now, to authorize the transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Kiev. The weapons would allow Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia, a move that Kiev believes could force Moscow to the negotiating table. Instead, Zelensky offered his thanks and proposed a deal to share his country’s drone advances with the United States. And he avoided a repeat of the Oval Office blowup the two leaders had when they met in February.
Even before the meeting, Zelensky had already been underrated by Putin, who, in a surprise phone call two days ago, spoke with Trump while the Ukrainian leader was en route to Washington. The Russian president warned Trump about the Tomahawk transfer and offered something our headline-hungry president couldn’t resist: the prospect of trade deals and another high-profile summit, this time in Budapest. That meeting will not include Zelensky, almost certainly ensuring that it will do little to end the war that has raged in Eastern Europe for nearly four years.
Trump has longed to be known as a peace-making president. For months, he has touted the number of conflicts he claims to have ended, a number that seems to be steadily increasing (six? Seven?) even as some of the countries involved, like India, have disputed his claims of conciliation. Last week, Trump helped broker a remarkable breakthrough in the Middle East. The president had finally run out of patience with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, especially after he was caught off guard by an Israeli raid on Qatar that was intended to kill Hamas’s top negotiators.
Furious that an attack had been carried out within the borders of a U.S. ally, Trump forced Netanyahu to apologize to the Qataris. The prime minister, who could not risk losing Trump’s support, did so in a phone call from the Oval Office. Trump pushed Netanyahu to “win” in Gaza, conceding that Israel had achieved its military objectives. But he also backed Israel’s plans to invade Gaza City, which could have destroyed the last organized remnants of the terror group. Hamas capitulated. Israel withdrew. The last 20 surviving hostages were released.
Days later, that ceasefire already looks fragile. But Trump has not been bothered by the details and has taken a victory lap for achieving what he believes is a historic peace deal. Zelensky noticed this. Yesterday he offered lavish praise, declaring the agreement “extraordinary” and decreeing that Trump now has the “momentum” to achieve peace in Europe as well.
"I am confident that with your help we can stop this war ," Zelensky said. Trump smiled.
Zelensky and Trump have had a turbulent relationship, to say the least. In February, Trump and Vice President JD Vance sharply criticized Zelensky for his modest dress code (he didn’t wear a suit) and for failing to express, in their view, proper gratitude for the war effort. Trump has also, at times, echoed the Kremlin’s talking points and, inexplicably, blamed Ukraine for starting the war. But recently, Zelensky has played on the president’s ego and, with the help of other European leaders, has emphasized that Russia, not Ukraine, is the obstacle to peace.
Putin has long been a master at manipulating Trump. Last week, the Russian president said the Nobel Peace Prize had lost its credibility because Trump didn't win it for helping broker a ceasefire in Gaza. Trump posted a video of the comments on his Truth Social account the same day, writing: "Thank you President Putin!"
When Putin called yesterday, he revived the discussion of U.S.-Russia trade deals that had intrigued Trump over the summer and offered another summit. It's not long since their last meeting, an August meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, yielded few results.
Trump immediately seized on the idea of a meeting in Budapest. And he backed away from the idea of supplying Kiev with Tomahawk missiles, saying today: “ We would much rather not need Tomahawk missiles. That could mean a major escalation; that could mean a lot of bad things could happen .” Once again, Putin has given more time to his war effort.
Ukrainians were surprised by the phone call with Putin and the prospect of the Budapest summit. It also came as a surprise to many in Washington that Trump would be willing to meet with Putin again so soon after Anchorage, which was widely seen as a setback for the US president. Putin conceded nothing in Alaska and continued to defy Trump by striking his smaller neighbor with drones and missiles. However, Trump has yet to impose any sanctions on Russia, nor has he offered Ukraine concrete security guarantees.
If Zelensky was disappointed, he didn't let it show. Speaking to reporters outside the White House, he said the US administration had not approved Ukraine's request for Tomahawk missiles, but he seemed to signal that future supplies of the weapons were not out of the question.
"This is the position of the American side for today. But no one canceled this dialogue, this topic, so we just need to work more on it ," he said. Zelensky stressed that the Tomahawks, used together with other weapons that are already in Ukraine's arsenals, would pose a powerful threat to Russia.
Encouraged by Gaza, Trump remains confident that his deal-making skills will bring similar success in Ukraine. But progress in the Middle East came only when Trump used his power, applying enough pressure to force both sides to reach an agreement. With Putin, he failed to do so again. After meeting with Zelensky, Trump departed for Mar-a-Lago. As Air Force One lifted off, Trump took to social media to call for peace, but did not mention what he would do to achieve it.
“Enough blood has been shed, with property lines defined by War and Courage. They must stop where they are. Let them both claim Victory, let History decide! ” Trump wrote./ Adapted from “Pamphlet” by “The Atlantic”
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