As Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy and leaders from the EU, NATO and several European countries head to Washington, D.C. for a round of talks with President Trump and his team, the White House has gone on the offensive to show that something was gained from the showdown in Alaska.
Steve Witkoff, the Trump envoy-at-large who was present at the summit, told Fox News that what was achieved was greater than a ceasefire. He stated, in a rather nervous manner that betrayed his comments, that Putin had even agreed to legislatively guarantee that once his (emphasize “his”) terms are accepted, there will be no further military action.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio also appeared on TV, as did South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, a noted hawk. Sen. Graham continued to assert that only Donald Trump can bring peace to Ukraine. Secretary Rubio basically threw the ball back into Europe’s court, which is clearly The Donald’s chosen path.
Meanwhile, the only one I heard who made any sense was Jake Sullivan, former National Security Advisor to President Biden. Sullivan noted that Putin had only two goals in coming to Alaska: to avoid a ceasefire and to avoid further sanctions against his country. He got both, even though Trump had promised pre-summit “severe consequences” if the Russian leader didn’t agree to a ceasefire.
I for one am going to be all eyes and ears on Monday as the European contingent swarms the White House. I’ll be alternating between Fox and CNN to get both sides to determine what’s really going on.
PICTURED: An imaginary signing of a ceasefire by Vladimir Putin.