The good news and bad news as Trump seeks Ukraine deal with Putin
For the leaders of Ukraine and Europe, that could be the bad news, too.
Concern about what Trump would be willing to cede to Russia in his supercharged effort to reach an accord − the prime exhibit in his open campaign to win the Nobel Peace Prize − drew an extraordinary group of European leaders to the White House to back up Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a pivotal moment for Kyiv.
More: Zelenskyy gets warmer White House reception: Takeaways from high stakes Trump meeting
In the East Room on August 18, America's strongest allies wrapped layers of praise for Trump's leadership around warnings about the need to reach a ceasefire before negotiations begin, and before Ukraine is pressured to give up swaths of land to the nation that launched its latest invasion more than three years ago.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin ruled out a ceasefire at his own meeting with Trump, this one in Alaska three days earlier, and he apparently won him over. Facing a united front from NATO and the European Community, from the leaders of France and Germany and Great Britain, Trump on Monday found himself more closely aligned on this key question with Moscow.
On his way to Alaska, Trump had called a ceasefire crucial, threatening "serious consequences" if Russia didn't agree.
But after Putin's flat nyet, Trump in the East Room described a ceasefire as a nice idea but not an imperative.
More: Trump and Zelenskyy meet again, but Putin has faced Trump, other presidents many times
Trump said the United States was prepared to participate in security guarantees for Ukraine, a significant step and one Putin indicated a willingness to consider. That surely increases the pressure on Zelenskyy to agree to what Trump calls "land swaps," perhaps including giving away territory that Russia has not yet won on the battlefield.
Putin has demanded the Donbas, an area rich in industry and strategically located. Zelenskyy has rejected the idea of ceding any land.
Foreign policy in an age of Trump 2.0
The whirlwind of developments in the space of a few days was a telling display of foreign policy in the age of Trump 2.0.
For one thing, the tradition of slow-as-you-go diplomacy, of meticulous meetings by aides to hash out the details before the principals meet, has been replaced by sweeping declarations from the top − often streamed live to the world and updated in real time on Truth Social.
For another, any inclination by foreign leaders during Trump's first term to challenge him too directly has been replaced by a strategy of flattery.
More: A Nobel Peace Prize for Trump? World leaders are lining up
That's true for Putin.
He is a former KGB agent who has led the Kremlin with an iron hand for a quarter century. But on this, Putin has persuaded Trump that he has Trump's own interests at heart. "I think he wants to make a deal for me," Trump told French President Emmanuel Macron as they gathered for a group photo in the White House Cross Hall, a private aside picked up by a hot mic. "Do you understand? As crazy as it sounds."
It's true for Zelenskyy, who showed up at the White House in a dark suit − a concession to Trump's complaints about his usual military-style attire at his last visit. That encounter imploded into acrimony. In the Oval Office this time, he heaped praise on the president.
"Thank you very much for your efforts," he told Trump. Vice President JD Vance, who had laced into Zelenskyy in February's meeting for ingratitude, sat on the couch next to the president, silent and smiling.
It was apparent among the European leaders, too.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte launched a round-robin of praise." "I really want to thank you, President of the United States, dear Donald," he said, crediting him with "breaking the deadlock" on the war and "starting the dialogue" for peace.
More: Ukraine's Zelenskyy avoids Trump mauling at White House. Will he get Putin meeting?
Zelenskyy and other leaders expressed particular appreciation for Trump's willingness to support security guarantees, though European forces would be expected to take the lead and the U.S. role hasn't been defined.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz raised the most direct caution of the day. "The next steps are the more complicated ones," he said, adding: "I can't imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire."
A play for peace or a play for time?
Just when and where that next meeting would take place isn't clear, but Merz later told reporters it was supposed to happen within the next two weeks.
Trump had "paused" his conversation with the European leaders to hold a 40-minute phone call with Putin. Afterwards, he said he "began the arrangements" for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between Putin and Zelenskyy. "After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself," he said in a social-media post.
Skeptics warn that Putin is playing for time, for the opportunity to keep hammering Ukraine on the battlefield while giving lip service to seeking peace.
Putin has another long-standing goal, too: To drive a wedge in the Western alliance that was forged in the aftermath of World War II, in large part as a check on Moscow.
An expansionist Russia and a divided alliance is also the European leaders' greatest fear − not only for Ukraine's sake but also for their own.
"The optimism of your president is to be taken seriously," Macron told NBC after he left the White House. But he expressed little of Trump's confidence in his new peace partner. "When I look at the situation and the facts, I don't see President Putin very willing to get peace now."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: High stakes and nervous allies as Trump seeks Ukraine deal with Putin
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