No one should be surprised by the failure of the summit in Alaska. Putin turned up, got what he wanted and left. To be fair to the Russian president, he has been consistent all along. His demands on Ukraine have not changed one bit, and he came to the summit in the firm belief that he had nothing to lose by conceding not an inch.
Donald Trump has been consistently weak on consequences for Russia. Deadline after deadline has passed and still there are no significant sanctions on the Kremlin or increases in support for Ukraine. Putin played Trump like an agent handler plays an asset.
Red carpet, salutes, side business deals; marginalising Europe and Volodymyr Zelensky. The was the buddy buddy routine. No doubt the mercenary rebel Prigozhin was given the chum treatment before his jet fell out of the sky. The loser in all of this?
Well, firstly it is Pax Americana. All the values and alliances that have given strength to us all since 1945 have been weakened by Friday. A war criminal gangster is greeted by a red carpet while a brave ally in Zelensky is shouted at in the Oval office.
I suspect Trump will now do what he has always done when he fails: he blames the next guy. Whether in business or politics Trump always blames somebody else. Anybody will do: Biden, Trump’s own executives, mainstream media, officials, the US military.
The biggest danger for Ukraine is now Trump may seek to isolate and blame Zelensky for not conceding to Russia’s demands. He may even develop a secret deal with Putin in the same way he did with the Taliban. We are not helped that Trump’s envoy, “witless” Steve Witkoff, seems hopelessly out of his depth and ignorant about the facts of the conflict.
I suspect the financial end of a deal has already been done. It’s just the annoying issue of the war crimes and invasion that seem to be getting in the way. If there is a proposal, I predict that it will be very similar to Russia’s constant demands – never Nato, No EU, conceding territory, and Ukrainian demilitarisation.
In exchange Putin might let Ukraine keep a little bit of Kherson or somewhere they already have. All of which is to be guaranteed by the European powers and a lukewarm US. Europe gets to risk its armed forces to protect Putin’s idea of peace, not Ukraine’s. Putin can therefore get on and re-arm while we may be forced to police the Ukrainian forces. It is absurd and an affront to those that believe in sovereignty and democracy.
The ball is now in Europe’s court: we have to live in the world as we find it, not as we wish it. This US administration clearly is not going to change course. And if we want to actually stand up for our beliefs and keep our citizens safe from a Russia that has attacked many of us over the years, then we need to put our money where our mouths are.
We must, for instance, invest substantially in defence instead of using Treasury tricks to artificially inflate the figures. I despair at how, throughout this sorry saga, the West has failed to signpost clear consequences for Russian actions. That’s why Putin could come to the summit and know that he could do what he liked without any reprisals.
This next stage will also be a test for our Prime Minister. Will Keir Starmer continue to appease and flatter Donald Trump? Or will he double down on efforts with fellow European leaders and give Ukraine the tools it needs to further defend itself ? We will find out in the coming days.
Rt Hon Sir Ben Wallace served as Defence Secretary from 2019-2023
No one should be surprised by the failure of the summit in Alaska. Putin turned up, got what he wanted and left. To be fair to the Russian president, he has been consistent all along. His demands on Ukraine have not changed one bit, and he came to the summit in the firm belief that he had nothing to lose by conceding not an inch.
Donald Trump has been consistently weak on consequences for Russia. Deadline after deadline has passed and still there are no significant sanctions on the Kremlin or increases in support for Ukraine. Putin played Trump like an agent handler plays an asset.
Red carpet, salutes, side business deals; marginalising Europe and Volodymyr Zelensky. The was the buddy buddy routine. No doubt the mercenary rebel Prigozhin was given the chum treatment before his jet fell out of the sky. The loser in all of this?
Well, firstly it is Pax Americana. All the values and alliances that have given strength to us all since 1945 have been weakened by Friday. A war criminal gangster is greeted by a red carpet while a brave ally in Zelensky is shouted at in the Oval office.
I suspect Trump will now do what he has always done when he fails: he blames the next guy. Whether in business or politics Trump always blames somebody else. Anybody will do: Biden, Trump’s own executives, mainstream media, officials, the US military.
The biggest danger for Ukraine is now Trump may seek to isolate and blame Zelensky for not conceding to Russia’s demands. He may even develop a secret deal with Putin in the same way he did with the Taliban. We are not helped that Trump’s envoy, “witless” Steve Witkoff, seems hopelessly out of his depth and ignorant about the facts of the conflict.
I suspect the financial end of a deal has already been done. It’s just the annoying issue of the war crimes and invasion that seem to be getting in the way. If there is a proposal, I predict that it will be very similar to Russia’s constant demands – never Nato, No EU, conceding territory, and Ukrainian demilitarisation.
In exchange Putin might let Ukraine keep a little bit of Kherson or somewhere they already have. All of which is to be guaranteed by the European powers and a lukewarm US. Europe gets to risk its armed forces to protect Putin’s idea of peace, not Ukraine’s. Putin can therefore get on and re-arm while we may be forced to police the Ukrainian forces. It is absurd and an affront to those that believe in sovereignty and democracy.
The ball is now in Europe’s court: we have to live in the world as we find it, not as we wish it. This US administration clearly is not going to change course. And if we want to actually stand up for our beliefs and keep our citizens safe from a Russia that has attacked many of us over the years, then we need to put our money where our mouths are.
We must, for instance, invest substantially in defence instead of using Treasury tricks to artificially inflate the figures. I despair at how, throughout this sorry saga, the West has failed to signpost clear consequences for Russian actions. That’s why Putin could come to the summit and know that he could do what he liked without any reprisals.
This next stage will also be a test for our Prime Minister. Will Keir Starmer continue to appease and flatter Donald Trump? Or will he double down on efforts with fellow European leaders and give Ukraine the tools it needs to further defend itself ? We will find out in the coming days.
Rt Hon Sir Ben Wallace served as Defence Secretary from 2019-2023