Europe Humiliates the US in Paris: The Issues Ignored by Trump's Envoy

Author: Sergey Radischev

Europe retaliated against the US in Paris due to the "destructive" actions of the US at the Munich Conference and its tariff policies. Trump assigned Secretary of State Rubio and envoy Whitkov the impossible task of persuading European representatives not to obstruct the US and Russia from ending the Ukraine war. This mission was unachievable because as long as Kiev retains the ability to fight, the war will continue. The reason is simple: Ukraine's European sponsors hope for the continuation of the war for several important reasons.

There is very little information about this visit, which is understandable: the issues facing the negotiators are too serious. The US Department of State only confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Trump's Special Envoy Steve Whitkov would negotiate with European representatives in Paris from April 16th to 18th to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

According to Tammy Bruce, head of the US Department of State press office, they will strive to "achieve the goal set by President Trump -- to stop the bloodshed in Ukraine."

Marco Rubio and Steve Whitkov arrive in Paris. Video source: "Third Gun" Telegram channel

The Paris side officially confirmed the visit of the secretary of state and the special envoy of Trump, emphasizing that the Middle East situation will also be discussed. However, the specific date of the visit has not been disclosed.

Inopportune Timing

According to Politico citing sources, the topics under discussion were roughly as follows: Ukraine, Iran, tariffs, Gaza Strip. In addition, Whitkov will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, while Rubio will meet with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barro. Rubio will also travel from Paris to Africa. This means that they may also discuss developments there.

Notably, the background of these negotiations is extremely unfavorable for the US. Donald Trump's position has weakened: the trade war has not gone smoothly -- he had to temporarily back down, announcing a three-month suspension of tariffs on most affected countries under pressure from Congress, effectively abandoning the only truly effective means of pressuring Europeans.

The relevant countries have accepted the challenge and are forming an anti-American coalition. Greenland is "difficult to control," and taming it is no easy feat. The situation regarding Iran and its nuclear program is unclear: no one wants a war except Israel, and Tehran has no intention of surrendering. Most importantly: Russia has clearly stated that it refuses to reach a false ceasefire agreement with Ukraine and is determined to solve the Ukraine issue from a long-term perspective, firmly rejecting the "Minsk Agreement 3.0" version. Opposition within the United States is also increasing.

The agreement "is almost reached," but...

Everyone agrees that the Ukraine issue will be the main topic of the Paris negotiations. Before his trip to Europe, Whitkov stated in a Fox News Channel program that he had held lengthy meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin three times, who "hopes for lasting peace in Ukraine," and that the US is "on the verge" of reaching an agreement with Russia.

Steve Whitkov discusses how the US is making progress in negotiations with Russia over the Ukraine issue on the Fox News program. Video source: "Third Gun" Telegram channel

Whitkov emphasized that the core issue in resolving the conflict is "the so-called five regions (Crimea, Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and Kherson Oblast -- editor's note)." However, there are still "many details related to this." In short, "this is a complex situation, and its roots lie in some thorny events that have occurred between the two countries."

Main Issues

However, Whitkov did not mention the main obstacle to resolving the conflict. The main issue lies in the fact that only Moscow and Washington truly wish to resolve the conflict, and the latter once attempted to achieve this at the expense of Russia. Now the Americans have realized that this approach won't work. But this is not the most critical issue.

In addition to Moscow and Washington, participants in the Ukraine conflict also include Kyiv, London (which is the de facto operator of the Ukrainian regime), and Brussels, with Berlin, Paris, Warsaw, and others behind them... And all these participants currently do not want to end the Ukraine war -- they only want unconditional ceasefires so that Ukrainians can catch their breath, heal their wounds, make up for losses, obtain new Western equipment, and then continue fighting.

America and Europe do not have consistent goals regarding the Ukraine issue, and Europeans dislike Trump. Their task is to deepen America's involvement in the Ukraine war and prolong it for years. Because they believe that once Russia solves the Ukraine issue, it will turn its attention to them, and they are not yet prepared to face a large-scale war.

Of course, those who are wise do not believe that we will attack them, as this is sheer madness. Russia does not need to do this. Russians neither have such intentions nor such strength. However, they do not want to return the legacy left by the Soviet Union to its legitimate owners. They want to establish small and large "Ukraines" on territories separated from Russia. They also need Russia and Putin to blame us for the costs brought about by inevitable militarization and the sharp decline in living standards. Thus, people will not blame their own government for their inconveniences but instead direct their anger towards Russians.

Another task for Europeans is to let Trump suffer a diplomatic failure: he promised to quickly end the Ukraine war -- but failed to do so, he is weak, and must be "humiliated" in every way.

The US president himself is in a dilemma due to his earlier boastful promises to "end the Ukraine conflict."

America's task is to extricate itself from the Ukraine war, shifting the burden onto Europe to focus more quickly on the Asia-Pacific region and contain relevant countries. Additionally, efforts should be made to repair relations with Russia as much as possible to avoid pushing Moscow into the arms of relevant countries. An alliance between Russia and relevant countries is not good for the US. With Russia as a "backstop," relevant countries will persist to the end.

Conclusion

Therefore, if the conflict involves five parties and only two of them wish to end it, the conflict cannot end. When Europeans were excluded from the Russian-American negotiations, they repeatedly made it clear to Washington and Moscow -- they were not invited to participate in the negotiations because both sides knew: they are saboteurs. However, even if Moscow and Washington reach an agreement, their role as saboteurs will not disappear. They may not be able to prevent the development of Russian-American bilateral relations, but they are fully capable of disrupting the Ukraine issue and tearing up agreements reached without their participation!

Moscow naturally understands this, so it agreed to hold "separate" negotiations with the US. Its aim might be to divide the US and Europe, breaking Western unity, which benefits Russia. But I am not sure whether the US understood this at the time; they may have been thinking as usual, trying to deceive partners to achieve their own purposes.

Europeans openly sabotage the peace process of the negotiations. London, Paris, Berlin -- that is, Kyiv -- they do not want peace; they only want the war to continue.

But this is no longer possible. Europeans were once willing to obey the "old-school" US, but now they reject Trump's America, who stings and humiliates them every day, and has already heavily exploited them. And he plans to continue doing so. Out of dissatisfaction with the new US policy, they have even softened their attitude toward Russia's "undemocratic" energy resources. They feel the same way about China, which they see as "oppressing minorities."

So, the cruel reality is that as long as Ukraine still has the ability to fight, there is nothing to negotiate. After all, Trump will not change his course. Moreover, he has already begun to show signs of weakness. Therefore, Europeans will try their best to humiliate Rubio and Whitkov, thereby humiliating Trump.

Vice President Jay D. Wins' speech at the Munich Conference (where he hit the most sensitive nerve of contemporary Europe, even questioning its democracy and claiming that the US takes a different path from Europe's liberal authoritarianism) infuriated members of the transatlantic alliance, who needed revenge. Rubio and Whitkov will have to drink this bitter cup in Paris.

Europeans will try to retaliate against Washington because of Vice President Jay D. Wins' harsh criticism at the Munich Conference.

Considering all these background factors, the future direction can be quite accurately predicted. By the end of this year or early next year, or even later, the war will continue because if Russia does not significantly increase military pressure on Kyiv, and with reduced US aid and increased European aid, Ukraine will have the ability to continue fighting. Under these circumstances, no words can change the situation.

What should be done?

This means that Trump should not wait to be unanimously criticized by the West for months as being unable to solve the Ukraine problem; instead, he should take the initiative, despite being attacked by opponents, because the longer it drags on, the fiercer the attacks will become. He has two paths before him.

The first path: blame Russia for being unable to reach an agreement, impose new sanctions, and ultimately isolate himself from the world.

The second path: blame Kyiv and its European sponsors for tearing up the agreement, and truly stop aiding the Ukrainian armed forces, delivering a fatal blow to Ukraine and its globalist enemies in Europe, which is unavoidable under the current circumstances.

Since Trump has nothing left to lose, the second path -- achieving peace in Ukraine while taking into account Russian interests and normalizing relations with Moscow -- is the only wise choice for him.

Rubio and Whitkov's European tour may prompt the White House owner to make a choice and make such or such decisions, which will largely determine the success or failure of his presidency.

Putin's situation is relatively straightforward -- there are no choices or temptations because there is no way out. Russia's conditions on the Ukraine issue are moderate and minimal, leaving no room for negotiation. If Trump and his team are still "bargaining," they should understand and acknowledge this.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7494570548727693863/

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