Putin Causes Further Embarrassment for Trump as Peace Talks Fail

Donald Trumps claims of being on the verge of ending the conflict in Ukraine suffered a major blow on Wednesday, as his highly promoted peace plan unraveled. The U.S. president found himself publicly embarrassed after British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin was never genuinely committed to negotiations.

The news came when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky canceled his scheduled discussions in Brussels with Trumps representatives Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Meanwhile, the team behind the Gaza peace deal returned to Washington, and Senator Marco Rubio skipped a NATO ministerial meeting in Belgium, marking the first absence of a U.S. Secretary of State at the summit since 1999.

The peace effort collapsed shortly after Putin announced that Russia was ready right now for conflict in Europe. Over the past two weeks, Trump had promoted his 28-point peace plan as evidence of his eligibility for the Nobel Peace Prize. However, the draft, developed in coordination with the Kremlin and without Ukraines input, contained concessions that Zelensky was unlikely to accept.

Kyiv reportedly also turned down a revised 19-point proposal that, despite removing some contentious items, still demanded that Ukraine withdraw from parts of Donetsk under its control and reduce its military forces by 25%.

On Wednesday, Starmer dismissed Putins war rhetoric as Kremlin claptrap and called on NATO allies to support Ukraine in every conceivable way. Speaking in the House of Parliament, he said: We all know that Putin is the aggressor here. We all know that Putin is dragging his feet, not wanting to come to the table, not wanting to reach an agreement.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna added, What we see is that Putin has not changed any course. Hes pushing more aggressively on the battlefield. Its pretty obvious that he doesnt want to have any kind of peace.

Russia made a minor effort to defend Trumps role, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov calling the talks a normal process and the first direct exchange of opinions. Nonetheless, Moscow declared the American proposals unacceptable, while Putin advisor Yuri Ushakov noted that theres still a lot of work to be done, both in Washington and in Moscow.

Trump had met Putin in Alaska in August with significant fanfare. Despite the three-hour session producing no immediate results, Trump insisted that great progress had been achieved. Since then, he has repeatedly claimed that a breakthrough with the resistant Russian and Ukrainian delegations was imminent.

Author: Lucas Grant