What if Putin refuses to swallow Trump's bait?
Trumps' efforts to befriend Putin and re-integrate Russia in the world community are yielding almost daily surprises. Today, defence minister Pete Hegseth said he would stop aggressive US cyber warfare against Russia.
Ukraine? Since the Ukrainian rare earth reserves that inspired Trump to launch one of his crazy projects turned out to be doubtful and difficult to extract, the project was abandoned by Trump and the responsibility for its termination cunningly blamed on Zelensky. Now the Trump administration lost all interest in Ukraine and left it up for grabs by Putin.
Even without US support, Ukraine is not about to lose the war because a new leader eentered the scene: British prime minister Keir Starmer. In the spirit of his historic predecessor Winston Churchill he promised to never abandon Ukraine and summoned all European actors to a crisis meeting in London.
The world is wondering: why is Trump pursuing his seemingly erratic course? There are three alternative memes:
-- Trump is a Russian agent who by chance, luck and Russian influence became twice placed in the White House;
-- Trump is a friend and admirer of poor Putin upon whom the Ukraine war has been foisted
-- Trump is a cunning politician who tries to decouple Putin from his allies, especially China and Iran
This "reverse Kissinger" meme was offered by GE
Trump wants the US to ‘partner’ with Russia to weaken China: Divide-and-conquer strategy. The US government’s talks with Russia are more about China than Ukraine. Donald Trump admitted he wants to “un-unite” Russia and China, in a reverse of the divide-and-conquer strategy used by Nixon and Kissinger in the 1970s.
We, at Deutsche Rundschau, have offered a different meme: Trump tries to satisfy Putin's desire for victory in Ukraine and his re-instatement as a super power in order to stop him from helping his new friend Kim Yong-un of North Korea to produce nuclear-armed missiles which are able to reach and devastate mainland USA.
North Korea unveiled for the first time a nuclear-powered submarine under construction, a weapons system that can pose a major security threat to South Korea and the U.S. The state media agency on Saturday released photos showing what it called “a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine,” as it reported leader Kim Jong Un’s visits to major shipyards where warships are built. The naval vessel appears to be a 6,000-ton-class or 7,000-ton-class one which can carry about 10 missiles, said Moon Keun-sik, a South Korean submarine expert who teaches at Seoul’s Hanyang University. He said that the use of the term “the strategic guided missiles” meant it would carry nuclear-capable weapons. “It would be absolutely threatening to us and the U.S.,” Moon said. - AP
How would China react to this scenario? China has not yet commented on Trump's efforts to restore his friendship with Putin. China would most probably be unhappy if its crazy, small neighbor North Korea became owner of nuclear weapons enabling it to trigger World War III and Armageddon.
Whichever meme caused Trump's motivation: Putin's reaction to Trump's prodding remains unknown. He will gladly accept Ukraine as a gift; he will enjoy his renewed international standing and the expected lifting of all sanctions. But will he freeze his deals with North Korea and detach himself from China and Iran? Will he trust Trump and not be afraid of another possibly Democrat president four years down the road?
The answer might not be as positive as Trumpists expect.
Even if both gentlemen meet in person amid huggings, caviar and wodka, Putin will remain inscrutable. His ability to deceive others is legendary. Scores of western politicians can testify to it -- Merkel, Schröder, Trump, Orban, Salvini, yes: even Zelensky in the prewar days. Putin is a first class actor who would probably do very well as a Hollywood villain if he wasn't chained to his Kremlin throne.
In any case: Trump is turning much of the world order upside down, and the victims are desperately trying to adjust. Ukraine has no choice but to fight, no matter how many peace plans are hatched somewhere. Putin will continue resurrecting the Soviet Union jusqu'au bout du souffle. Europe will continue to groan, haggle and start wasting enormous moneys on armaments. Sigh!
Heinrich von LoeschUpdate
After Trump stopped the delivery of arms to Ukraine, even mainstream American media now appear convinced that President Trump is a vicarious agent busy to achieve Putin's goals. Trump believes that Ukraine will now be forced to surrender because Europe will not be able to step in the breach and save its bulwark.
It seems the time has come for Europeans to visualize what a Russia would look like that owns all of Ukraine.
The image of a combined Russia+Ukraine looks daunting. Ukraine would help the large neighbor to achieve a salto di qualità, a quantum leap not only in economic terms and size but in the art of warfare. By adopting modern Ukrainian fighting skills and inheriting advanced Western equipment and software, the Russian military would become a formidable challenger to NATO and Europe, full of pride and the urge to expand.
Beyond Ukraine
If we assume that Trump is indeed a Russian "asset", why would he be acting on behalf of Putin only as regards Ukraine? Could Putin's playbook also mandate Trump to create global havoc by disrupting world trade and reversing migration patterns? This suspicion conjures up a disturbing image of Putin cheerfully sitting in the Kremlin and pulling his global strings.
Another voice:
The goal is to make Kyiv capitulateHotnews is annoyed by Trump's accusations against Zelensky:
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