European leaders' last throw

On the face of it, today's meeting at the White House is Donald Trump versus Zelensky and all the major European leaders. It's not going to be a love-in, and it's not going to be an alliance-led judgment call to end the war in Ukraine. This war is now all about Trump and Putin. I'm not sure anyone else will really get a look in. Marco Rubio, US secretary of state and national security adviser and half a dozen other jobs, says Europe has been consulted from the beginning, so today's meeting is not a confrontation with Europe. But that's precisely what it is because Trump has made it clear he agrees with Putin that the only way to stop the death and destruction - which continues by the way - is for Zelensky to hand over the two regions in Donbas that the Russian leader has his eye on - Donetsk and Luhansk. There are parts of these two key regions which Ukraine still holds and regards as vital defensive positions to stop further advances by Russian troops. If they are forced to hand over both regions, that will provide Putin with a terrific strategic advantage, giving him the chance in the future to launch further attacks. But Trump seems to want Zelensky to aceept and will expect all the European leaders to follow like lambs. But they can't and nor can Zelensky because that's what these last three and a half years have been all about - fighting the Russians and driving them back over the border, not allowing them to keep the land they have seized, around 20 per cent of Ukraine. This is not going to happen but Zelensky and Europe are stuck because of their adamant refusal to cmnsider land-swaps. Impasse, I think.