Trump Strokes Putin and Tosses Ukraine Under The Bus
But Europe steps up with troop promises and new sanctions
Yesterday an unbelievable Russia-US meeting took place in Riyadh, between the invader of an innocent country and a key member of an alliance dedicated to opposing the invasion.
You could see it coming; Trump did not invite Zelensky to his inauguration either.
And he has blamed Ukraine for starting the war. Like: don’t fight back, you’re embarrassing me.
In fact, he said “Today I heard, ‘Oh, we weren’t invited’. Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it three years [ago] – you should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”
‘You should never have started it’. When Putin’s troops rushed over the border three years ago in the fight Putin said would take two days, Ukraine was supposed to lie back and be killed.
The thoughtless arrogance of Trump is breathtaking. We already know he does not care about the sacrifice other people make, but this dismissal was a new level of indifference. He was however following his trajectory of stupidity, as he announced ahead of time that he was willing to give up Ukrainian land and Ukrainian security alliances. That’s some bargaining genius, from the guy whose name was on “The Art Of The Deal”.
He tries to make deals (badly) instead of advancing values – which he does not have anyway.
For Trump the situation presents “economic and investment opportunities.”
For Zelensky “the question is not about 'What Ukraine can give?', but 'What Ukraine can receive?'.” Just to be sure even Trump got the message, he added: “I will never accept any decisions made between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never.”
U.S. intelligence has consistently showed that Putin maintains broad ambitions for Ukraine, and will use any “peace” to prepare for the next war.
Even the Saudis thought that Ukraine should be represented at the meeting but they were ignored.
Of course, this is coming up to an ominous time on the calendar for Russia - March is a bad month for Russian dictators. Stalin died on March 5th, Alexander II was murdered on March 15th, Nicholas II abdicated on March 15th, Ivan the Terrible died on March 18th, Paul I got strangled on March 24th.
We can only hope the tradition continues.
Russia is represented in Riyadh by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Yuri Ushakov, one of Putin’s foreign policy advisers, and sovereign wealth fund head Kirill Dmitriev.
The US delegation entails Special Envoy Keith Kellogg, long-time defence advisor to Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
Rubio seemed to part with Trump’s view that he could settle the war instantly, recognizing that "Today is the first step of a long and difficult journey, but an important one".
Lavrov is a hard-line Putin supporter who denied to the last minute that Russia has any intention of invading Ukraine. When the invasion happened he spun quickly to the line that it was to "free Ukrainians from oppression". He described Western "demands to remove Russian troops from Russian territory" as "regrettable".
He said that Moscow is happy with Trump’s approach, and dismissed calls for European involvement, saying they wanted to “continue war” in Ukraine. He lost track of the fact that the easiest war to stop the war is for the Russians to stop invading; they are the active virus in this disease.
On the American side Rubio is a former foreign policy hawk who has now changed his attitude to “pragmatic” alliances…i.e. don’t upset Russia.
So you can see that in this meeting, everyone will be sitting on the same side of the table. Russia’s side. Where Donny can continue his worship of Putin.
After these talks, a meeting between Trump and Putin could happen quickly.
Trump wants this because he is all about being in the spotlight and saying important things, and Putin wants it because it throws legitimacy on him after three years of brutal barbarian slaughter. Trump wants to be praised as a great diplomat and action figure.
For Trump it is also personal, as most things are with him. He doesn’t like Ukraine’s Zelensky, who refused to support him in his illegal freeze of assistance after Ukraine did not investigate Biden’s son for alleged corruption. Trump is also after money, and Ukraine has politely turned down his request to obtain mineral rights in return for unspecified support.
This is reinforced by the announcement that the meeting is about “restoring the whole complex of Russian-American relations.”
Ukraine’s President Zelensky said Ukraine would not take part in the Saudi Arabia-based talks, nor would it recognise any agreement. On the day of the meeting, he will be in Turkey shaking hands with President Erdogan and conferring on bilateral cooperation. The next day he will visit Saudi Arabia to meet Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Trump’s reset of America’s position on Ukraine has upset European leaders, who were lectured recently that they should focus on ‘internal matters’ – supporting the rise of right-wing parties – and leave the conflict to the big boy (Trump).
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen rejected that advice, protesting that Europe’s security was at a “turning point”. Emergency meetings were held in Paris to boost the European military investment and ensure support for Ukraine. Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland have gathered together to make plans for a Europe-only defence of Ukraine.
In fact, the US already trails Europe in support for Ukraine, both in terms of portion of GDP invested, total amount spent, and arms delivered. The US has sent Ukraine mostly old weapons with dated utility; money spend for Ukraine has been spent in America in American factories. But this is not how Trump is spinning it…to Putin’s delight as he directs Trump’s wording.
Europe’s best security is not America – it is an alliance with a Russia-beating Ukraine!
Ukraine of course has made the greatest investment, in terms of people and grief, as well as the destruction of their economy. They have also destroyed a large portion of the main enemy of the US and Europe, showing that the Russian bear was only a snarling cub. Ukraine has also invented new weapons and tactics that are of huge benefit to the West.
Or they would have been, if Trump was on America’s side.
Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler, reporting from Paris, said there was “a real sense of urgency” among European leaders gathered in the French capital. “It has become clear at the trans-Atlantic partnership is no longer strong at all,” Butler said. “They see the US has already stepped away and they are very scared that what is agreed between Trump and Putin could have an impact on the future of Europe’s security.”
The Europeans are solidly behind Ukraine. United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced he’s willing to deploy U.K. troops into Ukraine. France has been calling for boots on the ground for a year. Spain’s Foreign Minister Manuel Albares said Europe had to prevent peace negotiations from rewarding Russian aggression: “A war of aggression cannot be rewarded. We cannot encourage others to launch wars of aggression. Today I’m convinced Putin will keep attacking and bombing Ukraine, so I do not see peace on the horizon at the moment.” Another EU leader warned Trump about making any deal behind the backs of Ukraine or Europe and accused him of “appeasement”.
And yesterday the EU approved a new raft of sanctions against Russia, with the measures set to enter into force next week on the third anniversary of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The measures target Russia’s so-called ” shadow fleet ” of ships that it uses to skirt restrictions on transporting oil and gas. Trade bans on some chemicals and aluminum are also included.
Almost 50 Russian officials will be targeted, joining a list that already includes Putin, several of his associates and scores of lawmakers, while dozens more entities face sanctions. Among the measures are restrictions on 13 Russian banks and 3 financial institutions.
von der Leyen stated that “We are committed to keep up the pressure on the Kremlin.”
In fact, what caused this European shift toward active involvement?
First, the realization that Russia is not the military powerhouse it was once imagined to be. With a military that is patently inferior, the prospect in Europe that there is a “Russian Bear” that could swallow countries whole is being demolished daily in the battlefields of Ukraine.
Second, Russia no longer has the ‘energy weapon’ to hold over Europe. At the outset of Putin’s invasion, Europe pivoted rapidly to sustainable energy.
Third, the expansion of European power.
No longer in thrall to the United States, Europe is beginning to realize its own power. Sweden is the most recent addition, and is the fifth-largest country in Europe -- bigger than Germany -- stretching 1,600 kilometers north to south and with a coastline twice as long. It brings some new advantages: it will be a hub for military activities in the northern part of Europe, linking with the other Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway -- all in the same military union for the first time in modern history. It also turns the Baltic into Lake NATO; Russia’s only focus now is to try to defend its second city of St. Petersburg. Oh yes, and it’s a major arms exporter.
Prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s army totaled around 300,000 people. Today, that figure has swelled closer to 1 million.
And all of the countries that are now uniting behind the stance of “get out of Ukraine you borsch-swilling peasants” have invaded Russia successfully in the turmoil of Eastern Europe’s past. With their histories, they have no inherent fear.
The Crimean Khanate emerged from the Mongol Empire in the 1400’s, and took Russian lands across of half of Siberia.
The Poles fought the Russians in the 1600’s and occupied Ukraine.
The Swedes invaded in the 1700’s.
And of course the French (Napoleon), the British-French allies in the Crimean War, and Germany (twice: Kaiser Wilhelm who beat Russia and overthrew the Tsar and Hitler).
None of them were beaten by Russian troops. They were pushed back by winter.
If you are looking for invasion maps, they are archived in many countries.
And now Russia is losing again. To a country that knows about winter.
Its most recent losses have been in the Black Sea; it is being beaten by a country that does not even have a navy.
While Russia is busy losing the main combat, it is also losing the regional war of expansion.
Armenia has asked Moscow to remove Russian border troops and it has been distancing itself from its traditional ally Russia in recent months while at the same time moving closer to the West. Russia’s territorial rot is starting at the edges. A small but significant applicant to the EU is Bosnia-Herzegovina, showing that there is no attraction in Putin’s message.
Rot at the edges of empire foretells its fall: two years after the Soviets were kicked out of Afghanistan, in 1989, the Soviet Union lowered its flag over the Kremlin for the last time (1991).
This is where Putin is now…his own empire is tottering on the edge of disaster today.
Further afield, Wagner Group has been fighting for Russia in Sudan to control its gold supply, and has run into blockages. Ukraine has sent agents who reached out to interdict that supply. Drone attacks against Sudanese targets have definable links to Ukraine.
Putin has recently lost his Mediterranean base in Syria.
His losses in Ukraine are now five times greater than those the Soviets lost in Afghanistan.
And Putin for whatever reason did not have the brains to figure out that any of this was likely to happen, and did not have the instinct to stop the process as the water in his pot started to boil.
This is the strategic genius that Trump is all hot to support. Putin is losing and it would take blinders to keep from seeing this. Once again, Trump has found a losing cause and is chasing it all the way down the hole.
There is no doubt that Europe sees the importance of Ukraine.
Putin needs to dissolve the presence of Europe and Ukraine for the very reasons that NATO was set up to defend it in 1949: “freedom, common heritage and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.”
He can’t have that on his doorstep.
On that point, he and Trump are agreed. NATO and European power have to crumble.
We’ll see what Europe says about it.
This may be a time for a great separation of Western powers, if Trump continues.
Europe will carry on, and will ably support Ukraine. There is nothing Trump can do about it. He can walk away from NATO, but at this point it does not matter. Europe can manage; Europe can win.
One minor point: Europe/NATO will still be represented in North America by Canada. Canada is committed to helping Ukraine; the largest population of Ukrainians outside their homeland resides on the Canadian prairies. Mark Carney, Canada’s likely next PM, is solidly with Ukraine: “when freedom confronts tyranny, freedom will triumph,”
And such a decisive demonstration would be a bonus for the world: new European confidence and presence in global affairs, unmuted by American politics.
Trump may be doing us a favor by being so incompetent – but he will be the last to understand.
What he will achieve instead is a demonstration of how little the world needs America.
By patting Putin on the head and trying to throw Ukraine under the bus, he will achieve exactly the opposite of what he wanted.
But that’s a trajectory Trump should be used to by now.
I hope you are right Barry. Europe typically has had a hard time uniting themselve - see Euro, Brexit. But most of them came together in WW2 AFAIK, and the Russian invasion is a precursor to other attacks. Europe knows that, and they are coming together. Amazing. My grandparents came over from Ukraine with nothing and raised a farm and family in Ohio. I am incredibly sad that after all the sacrifices they made to come to this country, that this country is now discarding them. It's a slap in the face to Ukraine to hold talks about the disposition of Ukraine - without them being there! Rump showed true colors when he started to blame Ukraine for the attack. That's like blaming the women that he sexually assaulted. He has no floor below which he will not sink. What a despicable pos.
Trumpleforeskin has 2 guiding principles that are not founded in logic. First, he is a practitioner of "The Power of Positive Thinking", the brainchild of misguided religious bigot Norman Vincent Peale. The Trumpleforeskin family regularly attend his church and gobbled up Peale's sermons. The basis for much of Trumpleforeskin's lack of morals and ethics can be found in Peale's teachings. Second. under the misguidance of his father, Trumpleforeskin learned to be transactional. The model is simple: "I win, you loose". Trumpleforeskin sees himself as the only winner, and everyone else are the losers. His speech is peppered with this concept. Prisoners of war are losers. Severely wounded servicemen and women are losers, etc. Considering that even his own mother considered him an idiot, these are the only 2 concepts his brain is capable of understanding. So it should not be surprising when he throws people, now countries under the bus, he has been doing it since he was a young adult.