THOMAS: At dinner with Trump and Putin, Zelenskyy would be at the kids' table

The ‘dust up’ between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on February 28 has been well documented, with sides being taken about who precipitated it, and why. 

The purpose of Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House was to formally sign an agreement between the two countries concerning critical minerals. Trump saw the agreement as reimbursement for the billions of dollars the US has provided to the Ukraine in defence of its fight against a Russian invasion of territory it feels is historically its own. 

The agreement was the US and Ukraine would share the profits of mining the minerals and it was to be the only topic discussed, followed by a lunch with Trump and his cabinet. 

Zelenskyy however, threw a wrench into the proceedings by asking Trump for security assurances, which put the US president between a rock and a hard place as someone seeking a negotiation between Ukraine and Russia. 

Perhaps Zelenskyy thought being on the big stage with a world-wide audience watching the proceedings live would force Trump to acquiesce to the security assurances demand. 

As the world watched, Trump’s anger rose fast and furious, telling Zelenskyy he was “gambling with World War Three” in a shouting match between the two, followed shortly by Zelenskyy being escorted out of the White House. 

Insider talk is that ‘security assurances’ means some kind of US presence in the Ukraine, either as air strikes or with US troops on the ground, if the war turns drastically against the Ukrainians, which would undoubtedly ignite World War III. 

It was a huge blunder by Zelenskyy and it highlighted his lack of experience with negotiations and diplomacy. 

Ukraine cannot win this war, it’s impossible and the longer it lasts the smaller the window of a peace deal gets, regardless of how many billions of dollars are poured into the effort by other nations.

Only high-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia will prevent hundreds of thousands of military and civilian deaths on both sides of the conflict. 

Donald Trump is an acknowledged ‘deal maker’, not only by himself, but also by those who have dealt with him.  

Vladimir Putin also knows his way around a negotiation table and if Trump is to be the go-between between Putin and Zelenskyy, he must deal with each separately, regardless that Zelenskyy wants direct involvement. 

Zelenskyy’s demeanour at the White House on Friday, too personal, too emotional, is exactly the reason he and Putin cannot be in the same room with Trump.  

At a dinner with the three of them, Zelensky would be at the kid's table. 

The deal Trump negotiated to own half of Ukraine’s critical rare earth minerals is a good deal for the US (revenues) and for Ukraine. With US interests and personnel firmly planted in Ukraine, mining the minerals and shipping them out of the country, it severely limits, or effectively prevents, any more incursion of the Russian army or air force into to Ukraine territory. 

A stumbling block could be China, which has large deposits of critical minerals, says Tony Sage, CEO of Critical Metals Corporation, who suggested on FOX News on the weekend that China is giving Russia full support in its war to keep Ukraine’s critical minerals in Ukraine and out of US hands. 

Regardless, if Trump is to be the go between, he cannot take sides; he has to operate with neutrality, which means no security assurances (direct military involvement of US personnel) which would destroy any chance of discussions with Putin, discussions that are vital to a cease fire. 

Putin will, of course, have demands. Ukraine would likely have to give up land already occupied by Russia, land that previously was under Russia’s control anyway and there may be other demands. 

Whatever the demands are, the result must be win-win for all involved. 

The US gets something back for the billions of dollars the country has poured into Ukraine. Russia keeps its land and Ukrainian civilians get their lives back. 

Is Trump’s desire for peace legitimate? Did presidents Obama or Biden ever talk about peace or just send billions of dollars to Ukraine?