Trump Crushes NATO Opposition to Ukraine Peace Deal
Aug. 19—The NATO mis-leadership descended on Washington yesterday, with their puppet Ukrainian dictator Volodymyr Zelenskyy in tow, intending to break the momentum for a peace deal established by last week's historic Alaska summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. But when the dust settled following meetings in the White House with the President and his team, including special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump and his partner in peacemaking, Putin, were firmly in control of both the agenda and framework for the next discussions. Sources report that a deal ending NATO's bloody and losing war against Russia is now considered a likely outcome of the process.
Even prior to his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy was told by the President that he must face the reality of the battlefield: the war is lost, and while it can be prolonged, all that would result would be more Ukrainian and Russian deaths. He must also give up the hope of NATO membership for Ukraine. While Trump had been able to secure from Putin a return of some lands seized in the war, Crimea—which Russia annexed in 2014—was off the table.
Security Guarantees Without NATO Membership
In the private meeting with Trump that preceded the larger meeting with the European leaders, Trump explained that he and Putin had come up with "ironclad" guarantees for Ukraine's security that obviated the need for NATO membership, which the Russians would never accept. These included NATO members and the United States giving Ukraine the equivalent of Article 5 protection (NATO will defend any member who is attacked). In addition, Putin would put into Russian law a guarantee that it would respect Ukraine's sovereignty and never attack it, and would also offer similar assurances that it would not attack any European nation. The pledge of support from the U.S. alone, Trump said, was sufficient deterrent to any future Russian attack.
On the "land for peace" swaps, this was a matter for Ukraine and Russia to decide. Trump told Zelenskyy that he would need to work this out with Putin, that what was done in Alaska was to get an idea of what would play: Russia wanted Ukraine to withdraw from parts of Donetsk and Luhansk, and Russia would give back other eastern territory.
Trump told Zelenskyy that he had decided a ceasefire was not as important as an overall peace deal. If these things are agreed to, then there would also be a ceasefire—but likely with some conditions that would not allow forces to be resupplied or reinforced. This, Trump said, would be worked out between Zelenskyy and Putin.
Next Steps Toward a Final Agreement
Trump explained that he wanted Zelenskyy to meet with Putin as soon as possible. Once that meeting takes place, there then could be a trilateral meeting that he, Trump, would attend, where a final deal could be worked out.
It comes down to this, sources report that the President told Zelenskyy: Do you want to end this senseless, stupid war that has killed over a million people, that never should have started, and would not have happened had I been President in 2022? If you do, I am giving you that opportunity. Putin wants peace.
Zelenskyy reportedly responded in the affirmative—which meant that any European objections could be treated as so much hot air and bullshit. Sources report that the meeting with the European leaders was full of queries as to what Trump had promised Putin in Alaska and how the guarantees would work.
These sources report that Trump explained that you need to look at where this is going, that it is bigger than just ending this senseless war and its killing machine. Putin is indicating that Russia wants to work for peace; you need to give them a chance to do that. He reportedly said that it is crazy to believe that Russia wants to take over Europe. The war in Ukraine was about Ukraine and NATO, and not some test of whether they could take over Europe. Why would they want to do that?
With Zelenskyy saying that he was willing to work within the framework created by Trump at the summit, and that he looked forward to a meeting with Putin, there really wasn't too much the Europeans could object to.
"If Zelenskyy really believes that he must end the war, then NATO has some problems," said a source close to the White House. "His people want to end the fighting and death. His military says that no matter what weapons they are given, they do not have the manpower to continue fighting. So maybe he has finally come to realize that he must end the war. NATO has not let that happen, so maybe we are seeing him move away from those jerks, and closer to Trump. Zelenskyy is nothing if he is not an opportunist."
Following the meetings, Trump called Putin to brief him on what took place. He talked to him about a one-on-one meeting with Putin, something Putin has in the past been reluctant to have. Trump seemed to believe it would now take place.
In a Truth Social post following the meetings, Trump reported on the major outcomes of the day, which included “a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy. After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself.” The Russian side has not yet been so definitive, as Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov reported that in the phone call, the two Presidents discussed “the idea that the possibility should be studied of raising the level of the representatives from the Ukrainian and Russian sides, that is, of those representatives who take part in the [direct] talks.”