This is the big week for Ukraine and Venezuela

This coming week is, I suspect, the one in which Donald Trump wants to wrap up Ukraine and Venezuela. War to end in Ukraine and war to begin in Venezuela. He will succeed with neither. Despite all the comings and goings over the weekend and in the next few days, it seems highly unlikely that Moscow will announce concessions to bring the war in Ukraine to an end by Christmas. It just won't happen. Putin claims he is in a frame of mind to talk about a settlement but as he will no doubt repeat to Trump's man, Steve Witkoff, when he arrives in Moscow, he will sign nothing unless it's on his terms. The terms he likes are contained in Trump's now infamous 28-point plan which is so pro-Russia it might as well have been drawn up by the Russians. Well, actually, it was, when Witkoff met up with Kirill Dmitriev, his Russian counterpart, when they met in Miami. Dmitriev, like Witkoff, is not a diplomat but a businessman who overseas Russia's Wealth Fund. Anyway, what they concocted together might as well have been written in Russian it was so pro-Moscow. Witkoff is off to Moscow tomorrow to see Putin to talk about the revised plan which has 19 points, not 28. I see little hope of converting Putin to agreeing to anything. As for Venezuela, Trump says he has made up his mind what he is going to do about the drug cartels and Nicolas Maduro, the leader in Caracas. But will this be the week when Maduro and the rest of us discover what it is Trump has decided. It could well be this week but it will surely fall well short of an invasion.