Trump has long sought a meeting with Putin, but risks being "trapped" - The Atlantic
Kyiv • UNN
Donald Trump seeks a meeting with Vladimir Putin to end Russia's war against Ukraine, which Putin has agreed to. Experts fear that Trump may make concessions to Putin, leading to a "bad deal" that Ukraine may reject.
US President Donald Trump has long sought a personal meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to discuss ending Russia's war against Ukraine, and Putin has agreed to the White House chief's proposal. This is reported by The Atlantic, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that Trump "may fall into a trap" that the Russian leader "is setting on American soil."
Putin has already won. He is the leader of a rogue state, and he will meet on American soil with the President of the United States. Trump wants a deal. And if he can't achieve it now, he may abandon it entirely
The publication indicates that Putin has shown no signs of being willing to compromise on his positions: he wants Russia to retain the territory it has conquered, and Ukraine to abandon security guarantees that could prevent a renewed attack by Moscow.
Having promised to end the war during his campaign, Trump, above all, desperately wants the fighting to stop, and observers fear that as a result he may agree to Putin's terms regardless of what Ukraine wants
According to him, if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejects the agreement, "however one-sided it may be," Kyiv will become the main obstacle to peace in Trump's eyes, and this could lead to Trump "again unleashing his anger on Zelenskyy."
It's clear that Putin's strategy is to drag it out. ... My biggest fear is a bad deal that Zelenskyy will reject, and then become the bad guy, and that then Trump, again in his classic mix of revenge and vanity, will turn against Ukraine
The media also notes that Trump "has made it clear that he wants peace."
"He also wants the Nobel Peace Prize. Several of his closest allies have said that the fact that President Barack Obama received it infuriates Trump. ... So Trump sees an opportunity in Ukraine," the author concludes.
Recall
According to The Times, the US and Russia are discussing a model for ending the war in Ukraine that resembles Israeli control over the West Bank. The idea involves economic and military control of the occupied territories by Russia without formally eliminating Ukrainian sovereignty.