For Trump, Flashy Summits Come First. Grunt Work Comes Next.
Now comes the grunt work.
Mr. Trump in the past week has effectively flipped the traditional diplomatic process on its head. After two critical meetings in four days aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, American and European diplomats scrambled to come up with detailed proposals for security guarantees and other sticking points that could upend any momentum to secure peace.
Already, major gaps were becoming evident, including whether Russia would countenance U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, and whether Mr. Putin was serious about meeting with Mr. Zelensky face to face.
Ironing out the details typically happens between staffers and diplomats before leaders step in to finalize the agreement. But Mr. Trump, ever one to toss out norms and traditions, went big last week in Alaska with Mr. Putin, then again at the White House on Monday, without any breakthroughs to announce. Now, with Russia continuing to hammer Ukraine and no sign that Mr. Trump or Mr. Putin see a cease-fire as a precondition for a deal, the process risks devolving into a diplomatic version of trench warfare.
So far, at least, Mr. Putin has a free hand to continue his war against his neighbor without immediate concern for further penalty.
'In a normal American administration you have all kinds of preparation,' said Steven Pifer, a former ambassador to Ukraine under President Bill Clinton. 'This is very unusual.' He added: 'The risk I see is that he doesn't prepare the details. My impression is that he wants a deal. He wants any deal so he can claim, 'I solved another war.' But the details matter.'
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