"Frustrated, Trump hints at suspending his peace efforts in Ukraine" "Why did Trump's Russia-Ukraine peace plan run aground in four days?" "" Major tactical mistakes "in Russia-Ukraine negotiations"...

In the past few days, American media such as the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have continued to badmouth the Russia-Ukraine peace talks pushed by US President Trump. Trump also said on the 22nd that he was "unhappy" and would evaluate the possibility of Russia-Ukraine peace talks within two weeks.

At about 2 p.m. on August 18, U.S. East Time, U.S. President Trump, Ukrainian President Zelensky and several European leaders held multi-party meetings in the U.S. White House.

"Optimism is fading"

U.S. and European leaders met at the White House on the 18th.Trump then confidently said that Russia did not need a ceasefire first, but could "directly enter" peace talks and reach a peace deal, and he hoped to hold a meeting of Russian and Ukrainian leaders by the end of this month.

On the 21st, Trump posted an ambiguous post on social media: "It is extremely difficult, if not completely impossible, to win the war without attacking the aggressive country. It's like a sports powerhouse with excellent defense, but it's forbidden to attack-it's impossible to win! This is exactly the case with Ukraine and Russia."

Screenshot of Trump's post on social media on the 21st.

Some Western media read that it was Trump¡¯s screaming to Ukrainian President Zelensky that Ukraine ¡°can¡¯t win at all¡±; there were Western media that thought it was Trump¡¯s urging Ukraine to attack Russia.

Russia stated on the 22nd that the meeting between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine has not yet been included in the agenda. An American reporter asked a question about this: What will the US do if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not meet with Zelensky? Trump's answer is: "I will see whose fault it is." "If there is a reason, I will understand it-I am fully aware of my decision... If they didn't meet, why not? I let them meet."

According to Trump's latest statement, if there is no progress on ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict within two weeks, the United States may take action against Russia. "This will be a very important decision, with massive sanctions or massive tariffs, or both, or none."

At the same time, Trump mentioned the attack on the factory of an American company in Ukraine. Ukraine said that the attack launched by Russia caused a fire and many injuries. Trump said he was "not happy about it" and "I am not happy about anything to do with that war".

The Washington Post commented that Trump's latest remarks marked a "major shift" in his stance. The Wall Street Journal commented that Trump's shift in attitude highlights that optimism about Trump's renewed mediation to end the war is fading.

The Associated Press that only four days since the meeting on 18th, Trump¡¯s optimism declined.The Guardian that Trump¡¯s remarks clearly indicated that he was frustrated by the slow progress of a potential peace deal.

On August 15, U.S. President Trump (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a joint press conference after meeting at the Elmendorf-Richardson Joint Military Base in Anchorage, Alaska, USA. Photo by Xinhua Agency reporter Wu Xiaoling

"Major tactical mistakes"?

In the past week, Trump has repeatedly stated that Russia and Ukraine should directly sign a peace agreement rather than a ceasefire agreement, and that the two sides can "talk while fighting." He also pressured Zelensky, saying that "Zelensky could end the war with Russia almost immediately if he wanted to." He (Zelensky) can also continue to fight."

Richard Haas, honorary president of the American Council on Foreign Relations, said in an interview with Politico a few days ago that reaching a peace agreement directly without allowing Russia and Ukraine to cease fire first is a major tactical mistake, which is very likely to delay the war and end the war. Conflict becomes difficult.

Has said a ceasefire is the most ideal and realistic goal at the moment, with both sides stopping hostilities and ending military contacts.The formal peace talks will take a long time, as it will involve many complex issues.

Regarding the idea of reaching a direct peace agreement, Haas commented that such an idea is valuable only when the prerequisites for achieving a lasting peace are in place. Obviously, such preconditions do not exist at present, and the differences between Zelensky and Putin are huge.

On August 18, U.S. President Donald Trump (CNN) met Ukrainian President Zelensky at the White House in Washington.

The meeting of the Russian leaders was difficult.

At the moment, the outside world is concerned about the possibility of the meeting of the Russian leaders. According to the latest statements of the parties, there is still a lot of uncertainty about the meeting between Putin and Zelensky.

After the White House meeting between the leaders of the United States, Ukraine and the European Union, Russian presidential aide Ushakov said that Putin should have a phone call with Trump, and the two sides expressed support for the proposal for the Russian-Ukrainian delegation to continue direct negotiations, and also discussed the idea of "studying the possibility of increasing the level of Russian-Ukrainian direct negotiators."

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said on Monday that Zelensky has not lifted the ban on direct negotiations with Putin so far, ¡°Ukraine has called for the summit only to show what is called constructive in resolving the crisis in Ukraine and in this way to replace serious, tough, and sustainable efforts to resolve the crisis.¡± Lavrov said on the 22nd that the meeting with Russian leaders was not on the agenda, but Putin was willing to meet Zelensky after the agenda was determined.

The Ukrainian side has recently emphasized issues such as security guarantees and arms assistance to Ukraine. Zelensky said that if Russia does not agree to end the conflict through diplomatic channels, it needs to take real and strong sanctions against Russia. Zelensky spoke again on the territorial issue on the 23rd, saying that Ukraine "will not give its own land".

Western media analysts say that the sides have not yet reached an agreement on issues such as Ukraine¡¯s security, Ukraine¡¯s non-engagement in NATO and territorial issues.The meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders is very difficult. AP reports that the momentum of current peace talks has stagnated, and there are no signs that the bilateral meeting is being prepared.

¡°There is a huge hatred between Russia and Ukraine, but we¡¯ll see what happens,¡± Trump told reporters at the White House Oval Office on Saturday, saying, ¡°I think in two weeks we¡¯ll know which way I¡¯m going.¡±

Original title: "Trump's Russia-Ukraine peace talks plan quickly ran aground? American media sing bad"

Column editor-in-chief: Gu Wanquan Text editor: Fu Lu

Source: New China International