Trump sees off Zelenskyy and welcomes Netanyahu: Peace efforts are stuck in limbo

U.S. President Trump met with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on the 28th in Florida, and on the 29th will hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, with the core topic being the second phase deployment of a Gaza ceasefire. As 2025 approaches its end, Trump, who initially aimed to win the Nobel Peace Prize, continues to mediate to end the current two military conflicts. If the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip finally reached a ceasefire in October this year can be seen as an important diplomatic victory for Trump, the push for the second phase of the ceasefire plan is clearly facing a deadlock. Although Trump repeatedly claimed that Russia and Ukraine are getting closer to reaching an agreement, his hasty and arbitrary approach seems to have put the negotiations into a tug-of-war.

Indeed, when Trump returned to the White House, he had vowed to end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours, which began on February 24, 2022. To fulfill this promise, Trump's team initiated direct dialogue with the Russian President Putin regime, bypassing European allies and Ukraine, which was invaded by Russian forces, and followed the Russian narrative of the war, exerting extreme pressure on the Ukrainian president. In late February, Zelenskyy's first visit to Washington ended in a quarrel in front of the media spotlight. The possibility of Ukraine accepting land for peace triggered strong backlash from allies who have strongly supported Ukraine in recent years. After several rounds of back-and-forth talks, Trump seemed to lose patience and confidence.

However, in October this year, the Trump administration made progress in promoting the ceasefire in Gaza following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and the warring parties finally managed to launch the first stage of the ceasefire. Perhaps inspired by this diplomatic success, the Trump administration suddenly proposed a 28-point peace plan for the Russia-Ukraine conflict in mid-November. However, the peace plan clearly favored the aggressor Russia. The U.S. president also seemed to have forgotten his doubts about the Russian regime's willingness to cease hostilities during the UN General Assembly in September, and again applied pressure to the Ukrainian president. But Ukraine, which has resisted the invasion war for nearly four years, longs for peace, more so for a just peace. Ukrainian European allies have also mobilized urgently to support Ukraine and ensure Europe's own security, holding intensive consultations and meetings to balance the unfavorable peace plan for Ukraine, allowing Europe to re-engage in the negotiation process, ensuring that Ukraine does not face Russia and the U.S. alone, and ensuring that any possible ceasefire agreement does not continue to expose Europe to Russian security threats.

Since the U.S. 28-point peace plan was proposed, the U.S. has frequently held talks and negotiations with Ukraine, Russia, and European allies. But until the meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in Florida on the 28th, although Trump remained optimistic that the Russia-Ukraine war could end in the coming weeks and believed that all parties had never been so close to reaching a consensus, according to current reports, this meeting did not achieve significant progress. On the 29th, the Kremlin spokesperson echoed the U.S. president's statement, saying that the negotiations had entered the final stage. However, the U.S. assurance of 15-year renewable security for Ukraine did not reach the level expected by Ukraine. Trump himself also admitted that the issue of occupied territories under Russian control remained unresolved. Whether it is post-ceasefire security guarantees or the issue of land, these are core issues that need to be resolved for all parties to reach a consensus.

U.S. Secretary of State Rubio recently stated that the U.S. cannot force Ukraine to accept a ceasefire or force Russia to accept a peace agreement. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy also stated on the 29th that any agreement to end the war must be signed by Ukraine, Russia, the U.S., and Europe.

How to advance the fragile Gaza ceasefire into the second phase will be the core topic of Trump's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on the 29th. However, in recent weeks, Trump's special envoy Wittkopf and son-in-law Kushner have frequently held discussions with representatives from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey involved in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire mediation, but there is currently no indication of breakthrough progress. The Israel-Hamas side continues to accuse each other of not respecting the ceasefire, and Israel is still demanding the body of the last kidnapped hostage held by Hamas. The current fragile ceasefire contains the danger of renewed fighting. According to AFP's report on the 29th, an Israeli non-official person involved in the hostage rescue for a long time warned that if the second phase of the ceasefire is delayed, it could give Hamas too much time to regroup and return. As long as the Israel-Hamas war cannot truly stop, the Trump administration's Gaza peace process cannot move forward, and the overall strategy of the Trump administration to stabilize the Middle East region cannot be realized.

However, the U.S. effort to promote the Israel-Hamas ceasefire clearly differs from Netanyahu's need to consolidate power domestically, especially since Israel will hold new legislative elections this autumn. The U.S. hopes to quickly advance the second phase of the ceasefire, namely, to push Hamas to disarm, allow Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip in an organized manner, establish a temporary administrative authority in Gaza, and deploy international peacekeeping forces. Netanyahu, on the other hand, needs to shift public attention away from himself before the legislative elections, so he prefers to discuss the Iran issue with the U.S. president.

Source: rfi

Original: toutiao.com/article/1852890004769864/

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