Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (left) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. NBC News/AFP.
President Donald Trump has slammed President Zelensky of Ukraine over rejecting peace deal over recognition of Crimea. NBC News. Trump said a deal was "very close" but efforts were derailed by Zelensky's refusal to recognize Crimea as Russian territory. Russia took over Crimea in 2014 and their ownership of the area has not been seriously contested since then. Zelensky refused to recognize that and has said that giving up Ukraine's claim to Crimea is against their constitution. Trump has shown considerable frustration with Zelensky and said it was harder to deal with him than President Putin of Russia. High end talks ended without an agreement as Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio pulled out of talks in response to Zelensky.
My Comment:
Once again, it seems that certain people are too stubborn to actually end a war. Zelensky should take the deal he is being offered here, it's not a bad one and one that is better than he deserves. If I understand correctly, Zelensky would only lose the parts of Ukraine currently occupied by Russia, and would even get some territory back in the Kharkov region. It's not a great deal, but considering the reality of the battlefield, it's better than they should get.
It's also insane that they sticking point is Crimea, of all things. Ukraine's claim on Crimea is laughable, it only held onto it because of the Soviets giving it to them and a good relationship with post-Soviet Russia. They lost it in 2014 and there has been no real possibility of them getting it back. Though nothing is impossible, I can't see how Ukraine has any chance of taking the territory back. And the people of Crimea? They are Russians and certainly don't want to be part of Ukraine anymore. It's been 11 years already, recognizing Russia owns Crimea is just a recognition of reality.
But Zelensky won't do it. He's using the same excuse for not doing so as not having elections. The constitution. That seems like a trivial thing if it means ending a huge war that they are currently losing. I think Zelensky is just using it as an excuse.
Why? Because I have said for a long time that Zelensky doesn't want the war to end. He knows he is losing but he is trapped. If he ends the war, he has to hold an election, an election he will use. And he is at threat from the other factions in the war.
Like I have said for awhile now, Zelensky is torn between what Trump wants, what Russia wants, what Europe wants and what the hard core Banderites in his won government want. A peace deal would please Trump and maybe Russia, but both Europe and the Banderites would be willing and able to kill him if he goes along with it.
Russia is the obvious winner here as it absolutely looks like Trump is going to wash his hands of the war entirely. It's possible they will still get a peace deal that will be acceptable, nothing I saw in the deal seemed like a deal breaker, but it's more likely that Russia will be able to achieve all of their goals if Zelensky won't deal. And, outside of the people that hate Russia no matter what, Russia looks like the more reasonable party. At least they are willing to talk.
So is Trump willing to wash his hands of Ukraine? I think he is. Trump's main concerns are domestic issues and I know the man hates stupid wars. He thinks, correctly, that Ukraine was Joe Biden's mistake and though it would stoke his ego to make a grand peace deal, he also knows when to walk away. And I think that time is probably now.
I would also say that if Ukraine doesn't make a deal, they will be in serious trouble soon. Every sign is that Russia is getting ready for a major offensive. Ukraine might be as well, but they don't have anywhere near the troops and equipment left to fight the war. Russia is slowly but steadily advancing and Ukraine isn't really able to stop them...
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