Trump regards Zelensky the obstacle to peace !!
The agreement is the doorway to a permanent US presence — commercial rather than military — in Ukraine.
That would satisfy Vladimir Putin. Donald Trump refuses to accede to Zelenskyy’s demand for a Putin-proof security which NATO could have provided, had it granted Ukraine membership.
Now Trump regards Zelensky, not Putin, as the ‘steel porcupine’, the obstacle to peace.
Once the minerals agreement has been signed, a ceasefire arranged between Russia and the Ukraine, and Trump has arm-twisted a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, Zelenksy and his signature fatigues will go the same way as that other mannequin — Hamid Karzai and his distinctive Afghan chogha.
Trump has the world massaging his ego. Leaders flew into Washington, DC, to kiss the presidential ring. First, Israeli PM Netanyahu came to collect Gaza.
Next, President Macron reminded Trump of the US-French connection over the centuries. Then came British PM Keir Starmer. He had obviously read his Benjamin Disraeli: “Everyone likes flattery; and when you come to royalty you should lay it on with a trowel.”
Starmer shovelled his with an invitation from King Charles III for an unprecedented second state visit by Trump. (Queen Elizabeth II had found Trump “very rude”).
On Feb 28, it was Ukraine’s turn. President Zelensky, instead of lauding Trump’s efforts to achieve peace between him and Putin, entered into a slanging match with both Trump and his tutored VP Vance, who demanded Zelensky express gratitude for Trump’s support.
The meeting ended with an unrepentant Zelensky being escorted out of the White House, an unsigned minerals agreement, and future US commitment to Ukraine in doubt.
Over the past three years, Ukraine has received over $380 billion worth of aid, including $118bn in direct military aid from “EU institutions, 45 sovereign countries, companies, and other parties”.
Perhaps at the White House’s instigation, Starmer on Sunday summoned an emergency conclave in London of 18 leaders from Canada, Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Türkiye, Nato, and the EU.
Its outcome?
Nato states must increase their military expenditure, up to three per cent of their GDP. Starmer, out of their weak flesh, fashioned a new ‘coalition of the willing’.
The EU wants Ukraine to become an indigestible ‘steel porcupine’, to deter Russia. And Zelensky has been ‘persuaded’ to sign the minerals and precious earths deal with the US.
What is in this proposed agreement that Zelensky has deliberately misread? Its draft proposes to establish “a reconstruction investment fund with joint US and Ukraine ownership”.
Ukraine will contribute 50pc of all revenues earned in the future from Ukrainian government-owned natural resources. It excludes existing revenue sources in Ukraine. Mining of such minerals takes time (about 18 years) and is capital-intensive.
The US expects Ukraine to mobilise its own funding.
India sits awkwardly on the Ukraine fence. It treasures its post-independence, non-aligned legacy, and has not forgotten cold war-era Soviet links. Through the G20 and an enlarged Brics – the organisation comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and UAE – it keeps close to the global south, which it aspires to lead.
"India’s 1.4 billion population – the world’s largest – youthful age profile and expanding economy – the fifth biggest – are turning it into a modern Klondike. Gold-diggers flock. All stake a claim for Delhi’s attention, influence, markets, skills and tech. At least, that’s how the prime minister, Narendra Modi, sees it.
His Hindu nationalist devotees believe India, a “civilisational state”, is embarked on a benign global mission as a vishwaguru (teacher to the world) under Modi Baba’s sage, cult-like tutelage". - 'The Guardian'
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