Trump's 'Art Of The Deal' Looking Artless On Ukraine

2025-03-28 05:02:16

(MENAFN- Asia Times) The White House says Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asserting the truce was effective immediately while also accusing Russia of lying about the deal's terms .

Needless to say, it's far from clear that United States President Donald Trump's supposed“Art of the Deal” negotiating skills are enough to broker sustainable peace between Russia and Ukraine given the protagonists' unwillingness to make concessions and the volatile nature of attempts to broker a peace agreement.

The war waged by Russia has reached the stage where both Russian and Ukrainian officials fear losing face if they make concessions.

Both view their enemy as an existential threat. Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued Russian defeat would spell“the end of the 1,000-year history of the Russian state,” while Zelensky says Russia's protracted assault is an overt existential threat and the absence of US support threatens the very survival of his country .

Both sides have seemed prepared to fight until the bitter end. The involvement of a mediator in the form of the United States, therefore, could potentially change the deadly dynamics of the conflict.

'Love to beat them'

Trump declares being up to this formidable task. He positions himself as a mediator occupying a middle ground between the protagonists, unlike his predecessor in the Oval Office who supported Ukraine.

In his ghost-written book“The Art of the Deal“, Trump claimed to enjoy these sorts of challenges:

But if mediators, including Trump, are to successfully persuade opposing sides to make a deal, they need to properly understand each side's motives. To what extent is each side malleable so some common ground can be found? Making a deal always requires compromises and concessions.

Trump is well aware of this, saying recently of any prospective Russia-Ukraine agreement:“You're going to have to always make compromises. You can't do any deals without compromises.”

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