According to Sputnik News on August 13, US President Trump has announced that he will decide what constitutes a "fair agreement" after his meeting with Russian President Putin in Alaska, and will present the result directly to Ukraine and European allies.

The meaning of this statement is straightforward: he will determine the conditions for the peace agreement, and other parties must make choices within his framework.

In this case, the demands of Ukraine and Europe can only come after America's judgment.

This not only means that Ukraine will lose the right to lead the conditions for ending the war, but also represents that Europe is directly silenced on regional security architecture.

Trump's statement transforms complex international security issues into a transaction dictated unilaterally by the United States, and his negotiation approach is not multilateral consultation or interest balance, but rather solely based on American interests.

For Ukraine and Europe, if you don't agree, you can go fight with Russia yourself.

Witkov and Putin

Trump's unilateral decision-making stems from the current chaos.

The US-Russia summit was arranged very quickly, with minimal preparation, and was pushed forward directly without a ceasefire on the battlefield or established negotiation mechanisms.

Additionally, previous Trump envoys met with Putin, misunderstood Putin's intentions, and Trump thought Putin had actually made concessions, which is why he arranged the summit. After arranging the summit, they found out it was a misunderstanding by the envoys, leading to widespread skepticism from Europe and Ukraine.

However, it is impossible to cancel the meeting, so they still have to meet, but how to deal with the dissatisfaction of allies?

Trump chooses to cut through the mess, essentially shouting loudly, "Stop talking, I'll decide how it goes."

This kind of operation in diplomacy is called "locking the game," creating an irreversible situation first, then letting the opposing side adapt passively.

What if Europe and Ukraine can't adapt? It's none of Trump's business.

Trump

At the root of it, Trump's approach is to sweep the issue under the carpet carelessly.

He doesn't want to establish a sustainable security architecture, nor does he want to resolve the long-standing contradictions between Ukraine and Russia, but instead wants to create a result that he can boast about.

As for the execution details of the agreement, the possibility of compliance by all parties, and the assurance of security after the war, these subsequent tedious and resource-consuming parts, he won't be responsible for.

In his view, the Ukraine-Russia conflict is a transaction that can be decided in one stroke: reaching an agreement in negotiations equals delivering results, and the withdrawal of the United States equals the end of the transaction.

If the war reignites in the future, or even the so-called peace agreement cannot be implemented at all, Trump won't care. Again, the same phrase, "I've already ended the war," you can't do it, what's it got to do with me?

Putin

Ending the conflict hastily carries significant risks.

First, the possibility of the conflict flaring up again is very high, as the agreement is forced upon them, Ukraine and some European countries will not truly accept it, and once the situation changes, they may look for opportunities to turn things around.

Another point is that the European security system will be weakened. After the United States withdraws, the differences between Eastern and Western Europe on policies towards Russia will further widen, deepening the cracks within NATO.

Currently, Europe is preparing for a major confrontation with Russia in five years. Without a reliable peace plan, this war seems unavoidable.

As for Russia, it sees Trump's actions as favorable. In the short term, Russia can secure its gains, thus proving that Russia has won this war.

As for the next war, if Europe really starts a big war, Russia isn't afraid, as it has nuclear weapons as a backup.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7537899208741880355/

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