Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — like Trump, Palm Beach billionaires — finished up five hours of a “productive” meeting with Putin with no progress. The whole affair seemed more like a Putin PR event than anything else.
What’s at stake here, of course, is the nation of Ukraine, which is under invasion by Russia. Putin’s declared aim is to put the entire country under the Soviet, er, Russian, umbrella.
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A couple of weeks ago, Nobel Peace Prize-hungry Donald Trump used his bully pulpit to introduce a 28-point Peace Plan to end the Ukrainian-Russian conflict. The plan seemed mostly to incorporate demands made by Putin during his summit in Alaska with President Trump.
The plan ceded the entire Donbas region of Ukraine to Russia, though its troops have yet to conquer the entirety of that region. In addition, Ukraine would be required to reduce its military in perpetuity to 600,000 troops. Russia would be given no limits. NATO membership would be forever barred for Ukraine as well.
The most interesting part, perhaps, is an initiative to open up trade and business developments with the Soviet Union, er, Russia.
Which brings up the impetus for my headline about making money, not war. Trump’s peace plan seems focused on economic opportunity rather than on justice for an invaded nation.
Meanwhile, WItkoff and Kushner will be returning to their lavish Florida estates with no peace agreement in hand.
Bring on the Tomahawks and further economic sanctions on Russia, Mr. Trump. Forget the Nobel Peace Prize you’ll never be awarded, no matter what you do.
