Trump’s Vision: Peace Beyond Ceasefire
Aug. 18—A shocked NATO leadership and their puppet Ukrainian dictator Volodymyr Zelenskyy were told by President Donald Trump, following his historic Alaska summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, that he had set in motion something bigger than ending NATO's war against Russia in Ukraine. Sources close to the White House report that the President told Zelenskyy and European leaders Aug. 16 that he sought peace not just in Europe, but everywhere—peace that would resolve differences between nations by discussion and negotiation rather than killing people on the battlefield or threatening the destruction of people and their nations.
Sources say the President made his remarks in response to Zelenskyy's comments, echoed by other leaders, that since the Russians failed to agree to an immediate ceasefire, the meeting had been a failure and the U.S. should impose new sanctions on Russia and all who trade with them to force them to agree to a ceasefire. Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff explained that the Russians had agreed to make major concessions to make a total peace deal possible, and that this was a tremendous "win" for everyone. A ceasefire, they said, will come as part of a peace deal which can now be negotiated quickly. “I want to do more than end the fighting, I want to create the basis for a real peace,” Trump told his "allies," “and I think we have done that.”
Zelenskyy’s Resistance and NATO’s Red Lines
Zelenskyy, along with some European leaders, is headed for Washington—not merely for some meeting with Trump and Witkoff, but to continue the negotiation process of the summit, with Trump continuing his mediation. At this point, informed sources say that Zelenskyy and his NATO controllers intend to do what they can to sabotage or delay a peace deal. They issued a new statement following the call with Trump on Aug. 16 that says nothing should be done to impede Ukraine from joining NATO and the European Union. They did so knowing that Russia will never accept Ukrainian membership in NATO (they have no objection to their joining the EU).
Zelenskyy continues to assert that only NATO and its Article 5 pledge to attack any nation that attacks a member is the only viable security guarantee against a future Russian invasion. Trump and Witkoff have briefed NATO and Zelenskyy on the even more robust guarantees that are on the table, which would create the effect of Article 5 for Ukraine. More importantly, they were told of a new security architecture for Europe under discussion, where Russia would make it clear that it has no ambitions to attack Europe for any reason—something NATO cannot accept because it would render its mission meaningless.
Witkoff’s Media Appearances and Strategic Framing
Witkoff appeared on two Sunday talk shows—CNN’s State of the Union, hosted by Jake Tapper, and Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream—giving people a glimpse of this broader strategy and the "victory" won for the world at the summit.
In the Witkoff interviews, both TV hosts pushed the line that, “Trump was firm about wanting a ceasefire, and since the summit didn’t result in one being declared, the talks were a failure.” When Tapper asked for specific points of agreement, Witkoff responded: “We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing. We didn’t think that we were anywhere close to agreeing to Article 5 protection from the United States, legislative enshrinement within the Russian Federation not to go after any other territory when the peace deal is codified, legislative enshrinement in the Russian Federation not to go after any other European countries and violate their sovereignty. So we agreed to—and there was plenty more.”
Territorial Concessions and Donetsk Discussions
Tapper leaned into the idea that no ceasefire was agreed to, and that there might be a “land swap” of different districts in the region, to which Witkoff emphasized that the U.S. was at the summit as a mediator for Ukraine, and that any agreements about divisions of land would be up to them.
He also emphasized that: “Those five regions, the Russians have previously said that they wanted it at the administrative lines … the administrative lines and the actual legal boundary lines, as compared to the contact lines … the Russians made some concessions at the table with regard to all five of those regions.
“There is an important discussion to be had with regard to Donetsk and what would happen there. And that discussion is going to specifically be detailed Aug. 18, when President Zelenskyy arrives with his delegation and some of the other European leaders.” He indicated that Russia is ready to make other concessions but refused to divulge them in the interview.
Security Guarantees and Legislative Attestations
He clarified that the U.S. could offer “Article 5-like protection” for Ukraine, without Ukraine having to join NATO, which Russia has repeatedly emphasized is a red line. He said that this is “really big” to be able to offer these security deals, but didn’t elaborate on details.
In the interview with Shannon Bream, Witkoff commented that Trump is now pivoting towards a peace deal package, not just a ceasefire, and said that great progress was made during the summit towards that goal.
Witkoff also noted that Russia had agreed to certain legislative attestations that they wouldn’t advance the lines in Ukraine, and that they would not infringe on the borders of any European nation. He asserted that, in the phone call immediately after the summit between Trump and Zelenskyy, as well as other European leaders, it was universally recognized that Russia was willing to make major concessions, and that the summit was a “win.” As with all negotiations, further details need to be discussed.
Putin’s Position and Trump’s Broader Vision
Bream raised the issue of how ostensibly collegial and warm the reception was for Putin, and how Trump’s opposition and some of his supporters were supposedly concerned about such a “message” to the world.
Witkoff emphasized again that the Russians moved significantly forward as a result of meeting with Trump, that the peace process is moving forward, and that the resulting win is “epic.” He remarked that we should all be focused on the end result being a peace deal.
Putin, who had warned about possible European sabotage of the peace process, was asked in a recent press briefing whether he thought that Europe could play a positive mediating role with Ukraine. “I think that is impossible,” he said. “Europe, unlike President Trump and the United States, refuses to understand the issues at play here, refuses to accept NATO responsibility for what has happened. They are still involved in trying to destroy the Russian Federation, which is a fool’s errand, at which they will never succeed.”
“Trump will not back down on this, no matter what Zelenskyy and the Euro fools say,” said the source close to the White House. “The President got Putin to agree to give a security guarantee not only to Ukraine but to all of Europe. That’s really important and shows that Putin is thinking past this conflict to the future. He and Trump spent time in Alaska talking about future economic deals, talking about points of cooperation on many things, including space exploration. They both mentioned this in their statements in Anchorage. They talked about doing things now for the benefit of future generations. There is a joint vision here. NATO and Zelenskyy have no vision, and as Lincoln once said, when people have no vision, they perish. The President wants something better for everyone, a new deal for humanity and he intends to fight for this.”
This and other sources say Trump wants to bring Zelenskyy on board—kicking and screaming—and move quickly to what he has proposed as the next stage in the peace process: a meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy that he would broker, to hammer out the actual deal. We will know more about it in the days ahead.