Trump-Putin Meeting Speculation A Road To Nowhere

Latest stories

Why Israel's self-image changed from self-reliance to militarism

Taiwan's future precarious-with or without US-China conflict

'You're fired!': Trump tells Intel boss to resign over China ties

Beyond that, we know that Trump wants a deal that ends the fighting, so whatever was worked out includes an end to the fighting. Some could call it a Ukrainian capitulation (which is precisely what Zelensky thinks he is fighting against); in Trump's language, though, it would be a ceasefire

But there would be no further reason for the two leaders to meet unless there were many other parts to the deal that they are trying to conclude. It is the“other parts” that are intriguing and unknown, even though everyone thinks they know what they don't know. (Parts are not parts in this context.)

Everyone knows, and Zelensky vociferously confirms, that Zelensky cannot agree to any territorial concessions. It is hard to figure out any workaround that would bring Zelensky on board, and it may well be that no other prospective Ukrainian leaders could agree either (unless they were stooges of the Russians, and then they would have a short life span).

From Zelensky's point of view, which is probably no longer supported by the Ukrainian public that is increasingly tired of the war and the casualties, giving up territory would signal the collapse of Ukraine's army, making Ukraine subject to full Russian control.

The Russians say they do not want to control Ukraine, that Putin wants a neutral and peaceful Ukrainian neighbor with only a small army and with no NATO membership. Oddly enough, a peaceful Ukraine would strategically suit Europe, which needs at least a decade to get its armed forces and defense industries in order.

That is, of course, if you buy all the claims being made by European countries (UK, France and Germany especially) and by the EU that they are going to build a strong fortress Europe and support Ukraine all-in, as if they have the resources and will to make any of this happen.

If you think it may be a scam, you are likely on the right track: Europe's objective is to get the US to provide the real security backbone for the continent. Meanwhile, the money flowing into European defense companies is more designed to provide employment (jobs) rather than to build weapons.

The latest indicator is that the Italian government has asked its flagship defense company, Leonardo, to figure out how to spend a windfall of euros, so they will find some gold-plated, irrelevant solutions to meet a political and economic need.

It is also clear, though, that the“big” European governments, and the EU itself, are in a lot of political trouble. The ridiculous low polling of Britain's Labor government shows, as Henny Penny said, the sky is falling.

The current gaggle of European leaders – Germany, France, UK, Poland (maybe not Italy) – is not likely to last, at most, a few years, after which conservative, nationalist governments will replace them. Thinking that these in-power leaders can really arrange the future is not believable.

For Trump, the problem is a different one. In a perfect world, he would like to settle the Ukraine war and stabilize the US's role in Europe, which is nearly impossible because of the European leadership clique.