This isn't Yalta, Trump isn't Roosevelt, and last time, the Fascists weren't invited to dictate terms at the table
Spoiler alert: if you were looking for a meaning ceasefire and peace deal then if I was you, I wouldn't start cracking open the bottles of Bolly just yet.
Once again, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have demonstrated that their brand of diplomacy is nothing more than a grubby carve-up of global influence, dressed up as statesmanship. The White House statement following their latest phone call is a masterclass in Orwellian doublespeak—talk of 'peace' and 'ceasefires' masking what is, in reality, a cynical deal to reshape Europe and the Middle East in the image of two megalomaniacs.
Below is the statement issued by the Whitehouse this afternoon:
First and foremost, let’s address the weapons grade wopper in this pathetic excuse for a diplomatic statement: 'This conflict should never have started.' WTAF??? this is breath-taking. File this in No shit Sherlock. There’s only one person to blame for that, and it’s the war criminal currently holed up in the Kremlin, sitting with an ICC arrest warrant hanging over him. Putin launched this war. On Putin's watch over a million people have being slaughtered, many of them his own countrymen, sent as cannon fodder to die for his imperialist fantasies and his sociopathic lack of value for human life. So for him to suddenly declare that the war ‘should never have started’ is not just laughable, it’s fucking obscene. And Trump, ever the useful idiot for despots, is only too happy to help launder this revisionist history.
Let’s not kid ourselves: this isn't about Ukraine. The references to the Middle East make it clear that Trump and Putin are discussing a much broader realignment. This isn’t diplomacy, it’s a gangster negotiation over spheres of influence. The language about ‘economic deals’ and ‘geopolitical stability’ translates to ‘who gets to pillage what.’ The idea that these two crooks are in any way interested in stability is an insult to the intelligence of anyone paying attention.
Iran and Israel, conveniently thrown into the mix to lend some false credibility to their so-called ‘peace agenda.’ If Trump and Putin were remotely serious about preventing war in the Middle East, they wouldn’t be treating the region like a chessboard where they get to move the pieces. Instead, what we see here is more of the same: two corrupt strongmen deciding what’s best for everyone else, as if the world, like the characatures of the two President in the video of 'Two tribes' by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Trump’s unyielding support for Netanyahu, no matter how far-right or extreme his policies become, has only further entrenched instability in the region. At the same time Russia, while having been humiliatingly sidelined in Syria after years of backing Assad, is now desperately clawing for relevance. This sudden concern for ‘strategic weapon proliferation’ and ‘regional stability’ is nothing more than a cover for Putin’s broader ambition: re-establishing Russia’s influence in the Middle East by leveraging whatever scraps of credibility he has left with states like Iran. Meanwhile, Trump, ever the opportunist, sees an opening to pander to his evangelical and neoconservative base by presenting himself as the ultimate ‘protector’ of Israel, all while making backroom deals that further undermine regional peace.
We need to talk about NATO, already fracturing and wondering if Trump is its friend then he is then who needs enemies. A lot has been made by Russia about NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe, as if it were some unprovoked act of aggression. But the reality is these nations: Poland, the Baltic states, Romania, The Czech Republic etc practically sprinted into NATO’s arms because they had seen exactly what being under Russia’s sphere of influence meant. They didn’t want to be next in line for an occupation, a puppet government, or a ‘special military operation.’ For all NATO’s faults, and there are plenty, not least its slavish dog-wagging to the US, Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova have shown exactly where NOT being in NATO gets you: vulnerable, invaded, and at the mercy of a dictator who fancies himself a 21st-century tsar. And don't forget the Czech replublic, Slovakia and Hungary were all harbingers of Russias modern violent forays into Europe.
Prague Spring 1968. This memory is seared in the mind of the Czechs. This is why Eastern Europe joined NATO.
So it t turns out that NATO wasn’t the aggressor here, Russia was, and still is. Yes Trump is desperatly trying to frame this as otherwise, a tenant that doesn't pay it's way. Everyone wants peace. Nobody, except the arms manufacturers and war profiteers, wins in a prolonged conflict, and Trump conveniently forgets that most of these ain this war are American. So let’s not pretend this war started in 2022. The truth is, Russia’s Wagner-led proxy war in the Donbas has been ongoing since 2014, and the seizure of Crimea was a blatant violation of the Budapest Memorandum, a treaty in which Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees that the West utterly failed to enforce. The failure of the US, UK, and the wider West to prevent the escalation of this crisis is a damning indictment of their spinelessness. So this is where we are now and while the those on the left talking peace, people like Corbyn, were absolutely right in their analysis the outset way before 2014, sadly the world has overtaken them. And now, in a cruel twist, the very nations that let this situation spiral out of control are the ones deciding the fate of Europe. The hypocrisy is staggering, those who ignored the warning signs now claim to be the arbiters of peace, while the nations whose sovereignty has been trampled on on even have a seat at the fucking table.
Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia and political scientist, to discuss the Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations, U.S. President Donald Trump's approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the ideological parallels between Putinism and MAGA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH4JFhAJo0k
It’s telling that Russia is dictating terms that forbid Ukraine from rearming while simultaneously ensuring the Black Sea Fleet gets replenished without restriction. When, and it's a matter of when, not if, this so-called ceasefire collapses, either through a convenient false flag attack or simply when Putin decides the time is right, the southwestern coast of Ukraine and Odessa will be the first to fall - because that is the southern flanking route into Eastern Europe.
This isn’t a roadmap to peace; it’s a blueprint for carving Ukraine into pieces, leaving behind a landlocked, defenceless rump state. This is nothing more than a tactical pause for Russia, a chance to regroup and finish what it started, and anyone presenting it as a step toward stability is deluding themselves.
As for Ukraine? well Ukraine is unlikely to go along with this, or if they do, it will be under duress. No country wants peace more than Ukraine, but not at the cost of its sovereignty. Too many lives have been lost in the fight to defend that. No doubt, when Ukraine refuses to comply with this sham, the usual suspects will frame it as Ukrainian intransigence, painting them as unwilling to negotiate, as if ‘peace’ means rolling over and accepting occupation. But sovereignty is not up for debate, and neither should be the right to self-defence. Our riteous states are quick to shout self defence when Israel is murdering civilians on an industrial scale but that equivelence doesn't seem to be shared when a coutry is fighting for its life. This so-called peace plan is nothing more than a surrender document with a thin coat of diplomatic varnish.
While we are at it lets have a gander at the elephant in the room: Trump’s desperate desire to stay in Putin’s good graces. We all know why. Trump has spent years grovelling at the feet of every tinpot dictator with a grudge against the West, and Putin is his golden ticket to geopolitical relevance. The unspoken understanding here is clear: Trump is positioning himself for his next election campaign, the one that he will have to tear up the constitution to run in. And he’s more than willing to sell out Ukraine, and by extension, any notion of a democratic Europe,to achieve it. His language of ‘bilateral relations’ is nothing more than code for appeasement.
This isn’t Yalta. Trump is no Roosevelt, and Putin is no Stalin (though he’s certainly trying). But one thing is for sure: this time around, the fascists aren’t just at the table, they’re dictating the terms.
The world has gone mad. If you enjoyed reading this, please feel free to look at the rest of the blogs on www.TetleysTLDR.com. They're free to view, there's no paywall, they aren't monetised and I won't ask you to buy me a coffee. Also please free to share. Just a leftie, standing in front of another leftie, asking to be read. All the best, Tetley
