Thursday, 7 August 2025
Trump and Putin to meet in UAE?
So it's going to happen at last, a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. It's obvious why Trump wants the meeting but why has Putin agreed finally? What does he have up his sleeve? Will his message remain the same as ever re the war in Ukraine. Sorry, HIS war in Ukraine. He might possibly agree to give up the objective of conquering/destroying Ukraine but he will never give up his main red lines: that Ukraine can never ever ever join Nato, and preferably not the European Union either, and that the army must demilitarise, and, probably above all, that Volodymyr Zelensky must step down as president. Trump can probably give Putin something on the Nato question because he has hinted at it in the past. He doesn't envisage Ukraine becoming part of the alliance. But he can't force Zelensky to resign and he will surely argue that a country the size of Ukraine has the right and necessity to maintain armed forces to protect its sovereignty against aggressors. ie against any future Russian invasion. If Putin is not prepared to concede on these key issues then I can't see the summit between Trump and Putin getting anywhere. So why has Putin agreed? Because, despite everything, he wants to keep in with Trump. Never in more than 20 years of being Russian leader has Putin had a man in the White House he could actually do business with, and he wants to keep the relationship going somehow. So he will arrive for the summit seemingly ready to talk about a peace deal but I reckon we are still a long way from a Putin signature. As for the proposed meeting betwen Trump, Putin and Zelensky, it won't happen if the UAE summit goes badly and either Trump or Putin walks out.
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