President Zelensky has agreed to an unconditional ceasefire. Yet, what truly matters are the terms of that ceasefire, not merely the fact of it. In effect, this amounts to a surrender.
The US position in the joint communique on ceasefire is very dangerous because the US has agreed to ... "negotiations toward an enduring peace that provides for Ukraine’s long-term security." As long as the US says Ukraine's security is a US priority the US will place itself in a very dangerous position. It is a trap for Trump to identify Ukraine's security as a US goal. There is no US advantage in a strong post-war Ukraine. Trump needs to get realistic about US interests.
Even worse the language about Ukrainian children in Russia is a poison pill which will arouse the ire of all Russians and is sure to cause an immediate "Nyet!"
All in all, this ceasefire makes me wonder about the team under Marco Rubio and also about whether Trump is really paying attention.
That depends what is meant by "long term security". Basically, the only thing the US and more broadly the only guaratéee the West can offer is the one of Ukraine's neutrality. Given the crying in Europe, it looks like we are going down that path.
A word of caution. Russia is not interested in a ceasefire without prior agreement in principle to its demands, so I think that the word surrender might be less accurate than delay and obstruct.
The US position in the joint communique on ceasefire is very dangerous because the US has agreed to ... "negotiations toward an enduring peace that provides for Ukraine’s long-term security." As long as the US says Ukraine's security is a US priority the US will place itself in a very dangerous position. It is a trap for Trump to identify Ukraine's security as a US goal. There is no US advantage in a strong post-war Ukraine. Trump needs to get realistic about US interests.
Even worse the language about Ukrainian children in Russia is a poison pill which will arouse the ire of all Russians and is sure to cause an immediate "Nyet!"
All in all, this ceasefire makes me wonder about the team under Marco Rubio and also about whether Trump is really paying attention.
That depends what is meant by "long term security". Basically, the only thing the US and more broadly the only guaratéee the West can offer is the one of Ukraine's neutrality. Given the crying in Europe, it looks like we are going down that path.
A word of caution. Russia is not interested in a ceasefire without prior agreement in principle to its demands, so I think that the word surrender might be less accurate than delay and obstruct.
Well, when one agrees to a ceasefire without any prior condition, one surrenders...