from Jake Tapper of all people
my take is much simpler:
ignoring the total disrespect that Zelenskyy displayed in and to the Office of the President, he tried to gain support from the media and American public for the position that he and Ukraine are right, and that Putin is wrong
if someone is right and another is wrong, they will never reach an agreement
peace requires an agreement
this is one reason why Trump stated that Zelenskyy does not want peace, because he wants to be right
executive summary: wanting to be proved right, Zelenskyy tried to improv in the Oval Office and it bit him in the ass
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I think the midget fucked himself yesterday. The world saw what an ungrateful petulant brat Z is. Now Trump owns the optics, you can bet Trump will not push as hard for Ukraine securities in his talks with Putin going forward.
I think it plays out like this:
-Russia retains control of Luhansk, Donetsk, the other regions down to and including Crimea. This gives Russia access to Sea of Azov as well as ports on the Black Sea.
-US will absolutely have access to precious minerals in that region.
HUGE DOLLARS.
-A US/Russia trade alliance, starting with aluminum (essentially taking Canada off the board) is the first move in keep peace in that region. An unfunded NATO and the EU will have no choice but to stand down. It also allows the US to monitor Russia.
Win-Win.
-It all but assures the end of US funded bio-labs in the region. A HUGE sticking point for Putin.
I trust Putin as much as I trust the Saudis, but if those two rivals can forge an alliance and create wealth, we can with Russia as well. It’s not the 80s anymore, Russia isn’t the problem, but they have to be monitored. We can do that and fill our coffers at the same time.
Trump will get his way on this…we’ll get paid to make peace.
This is simple, straightforward and 100% accurate