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National Post

Kelly McParland: Alaska summit offers no hope for Ukraine compromise

Article content From Putin's position, there's little reason to compromise now. He faces no serious internal opposition or public pressure. Russians as a people are so accustomed to centuries of all-powerful monarchs, dictators or one-party states controlling their lives — demanding unquestioning obedience while treating resistance with ruthless punishment — that it's bred in their bone. They're born to it, live with it and see little prospect of anything different. People who challenge Putin fall out of windows, die in exploding airplanes or expire in jails in some distant outback. He has valuable economic and commercial support from China, which has its own reasons for seeking a western world flummoxed by the uncertainty Putin's war creates. Article content On the other side of the table from Putin we have the president of the United States, who may have somewhat different motives, but could in no way be classed as a reliable friend of Ukraine or its people. Article content President Trump originally claimed he'd end the war in his first 24 hours in office. Later, he sought to squeeze off its weapon supplies, demanding a big chunk of its minerals in return for more. He eventually agreed to renew sales, but only if European allies paid the bill for them. Most recently, he set a deadline for Moscow to end the fighting; it came and went on Friday. The war goes on. Article content For Russia, the summit represents another chance to play for time, stringing along the president while continuing to pummel Ukraine and its people. His chances of gain increase the longer Washington procrastinates and Europe is distracted by the economic and security threats the conflict engenders. Article content So, why would Trump fly all the way to Alaska for the sit-down? European leaders — none of whom were invited to take part — declared both that 'the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,' and 'international borders must not be changed by force.' Zelenskyy has categorically rejected any surrender of territory, despite Trump's talk of 'swapping' territory. Article content The U.S. president likes a show. He admires Putin's avarice and cruelty, which he mimics in his monetization of the presidency and his treatment of immigrants and the homeless. He's remodelled the White House with a czarist taste for gilt and excess, and staged his own military parade with tanks rumbling through the streets of Washington just like they do through Red Square. While he may be mildly irked at Putin's delaying tactics, he's never shown the Russian despot the level of public disrespect Zelenskyy endured during a visit to the Oval Office. Article content