Donald Trump Still Has a Chance To Make History*
*Editor’s note: On March 4, 2022, Russia enacted a law that criminalizes public opposition to, or independent news reporting about, the war in Ukraine. The law makes it a crime to call the war a “war” rather than a “special military operation” on social media or in a news article or broadcast. The law is understood to penalize any language that “discredits” Russia’s use of its military in Ukraine, calls for sanctions or protests Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It punishes anyone found to spread “false information” about the invasion with up to 15 years in prison.
Dmitry Drize discusses Ukraine against the backdrop of a war in the Middle East.
Kyiv will settle the matter of further negotiations with Moscow after June 21-22. The prisoner exchange will be completed by that date. Russian President Vladimir Putin told his American counterpart, Donald Trump, that he’s ready to resume speaking at that time. Meanwhile, the G7 Summit opens in Canada. A meeting between the U.S. president and Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected, as well as a general statement on Ukraine. Kommersant’s political analyst Dmitry Drize believes there could be some changes coming on the Ukrainian direction this week.
Trump and Putin had yet another phone call. Naturally, the Middle East was the main subject, but Ukraine also got its share of attention. In particular, Moscow is reportedly ready to resume negotiations with Kyiv after June 22, when the prisoner and [dead] body exchange is scheduled to be completed. Zelenskyy spoke earlier on the same matter — as in, Ukraine will decide whether to continue its talks with Russia on June 21-22.
Our attention was drawn to a comment made by the Russian leader’s aide, Yuri Ushakov, that during the talks between the two leaders “readiness to continue negotiations was noted” — and, pay attention here — “as agreed, after June 22.” It would seem there are some things that the general public didn’t know until now. After all, the matter is currently understood to heading toward torpedoing the negotiations and a further military escalation. However, it seems the date stated above was pre-arranged by the parties, but wasn’t reported because either they couldn’t find time or inclination to do so. Or perhaps no one gave it the attention it needed.
So it would seem that a third round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will take place, and there will be some decisions.
Meanwhile, the G7 Summit in Canada, is beginning, and Trump could meet there with Zelenskyy. Aside from that, the Western allies, in theory, should already have come to an agreement on the Ukrainian question. By the way, the U.S. president, reporting on his phone conversation with Putin, literally said that Ukraine was discussed to a lesser extent, but that it would come up next week, meaning the week that has already arrived. Seems like the White House leader went for his signature move — to announce some sort of breakthrough.
We can already draw preliminary conclusions about Trump’s peacemaking activities. As we know, he started his second presidential term with a promise to bring peace to the world. Now, the result is quite the opposite. In reality, a large war has broken out in the Middle East, which, of course, may end in a major deal, but it also may not. It’s possible there will be a protracted struggle. Regarding Ukraine, all the signs point to increasing military action. However, the parties did resume negotiations and are exchanging prisoners. So there are some positive changes, after all.
Perhaps, as we said earlier, we simply don’t know everything, and there are some hidden deals. We probably shouldn’t count on it, though. There’s also a widely discussed opinion that the war between Israel and Iran will divert the world’s attention away from Ukraine. In many ways it is doing so. But we can assume that nothing will change globally. No one will forget anything. The threats are far too large, and too much is at stake. Nonetheless, Trump still has a chance to make history as the president who truly brought peace to the world and receive a Nobel Peace Prize for the effort. There’s always a chance. But it seems very remote.
Dmitry Drize discusses Ukraine against the backdrop of a war in the Middle East.
Kyiv will settle the matter of further negotiations with Moscow after June 21-22. The prisoner exchange will be completed by that date. Russian President Vladimir Putin told his American counterpart, Donald Trump, that he’s ready to resume speaking at that time. Meanwhile, the G7 Summit opens in Canada. A meeting between the U.S. president and Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected, as well as a general statement on Ukraine. Kommersant’s political analyst Dmitry Drize believes there could be some changes coming on the Ukrainian direction this week.
Trump and Putin had yet another phone call. Naturally, the Middle East was the main subject, but Ukraine also got its share of attention. In particular, Moscow is reportedly ready to resume negotiations with Kyiv after June 22, when the prisoner and [dead] body exchange is scheduled to be completed. Zelenskyy spoke earlier on the same matter — as in, Ukraine will decide whether to continue its talks with Russia on June 21-22.
Our attention was drawn to a comment made by the Russian leader’s aide, Yuri Ushakov, that during the talks between the two leaders “readiness to continue negotiations was noted” — and, pay attention here — “as agreed, after June 22.” It would seem there are some things that the general public didn’t know until now. After all, the matter is currently understood to heading toward torpedoing the negotiations and a further military escalation. However, it seems the date stated above was pre-arranged by the parties, but wasn’t reported because either they couldn’t find time or inclination to do so. Or perhaps no one gave it the attention it needed.
So it would seem that a third round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will take place, and there will be some decisions.
Meanwhile, the G7 Summit in Canada, is beginning, and Trump could meet there with Zelenskyy. Aside from that, the Western allies, in theory, should already have come to an agreement on the Ukrainian question. By the way, the U.S. president, reporting on his phone conversation with Putin, literally said that Ukraine was discussed to a lesser extent, but that it would come up next week, meaning the week that has already arrived. Seems like the White House leader went for his signature move — to announce some sort of breakthrough.
We can already draw preliminary conclusions about Trump’s peacemaking activities. As we know, he started his second presidential term with a promise to bring peace to the world. Now, the result is quite the opposite. In reality, a large war has broken out in the Middle East, which, of course, may end in a major deal, but it also may not. It’s possible there will be a protracted struggle. Regarding Ukraine, all the signs point to increasing military action. However, the parties did resume negotiations and are exchanging prisoners. So there are some positive changes, after all.
Perhaps, as we said earlier, we simply don’t know everything, and there are some hidden deals. We probably shouldn’t count on it, though. There’s also a widely discussed opinion that the war between Israel and Iran will divert the world’s attention away from Ukraine. In many ways it is doing so. But we can assume that nothing will change globally. No one will forget anything. The threats are far too large, and too much is at stake. Nonetheless, Trump still has a chance to make history as the president who truly brought peace to the world and receive a Nobel Peace Prize for the effort. There’s always a chance. But it seems very remote.
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