A peace deal to heaven

PRESIDENT Donald Trump claims to have helped end six wars in different parts of the world since he returned to the White House early this year.

- by Zahid Hussain

He now appears highly optimistic about being able to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine soon to bring to an end the bloody conflict between the two countries — “if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons”, the American leader told the media ahead of the meeting he hosted for the leaders of Ukraine and seven European countries at the White House.

One of Trump’s campaign promises was to end the war that began more than three and a half years ago when Russia invaded Ukraine. But resolving one of the largest conflicts to have occurred in recent years may not be as easy as Trump thinks. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed so far on both sides in the conflict, which has virtually turned it into a European war. The Russian invasion was seen as the most serious security threat to the entire West and has united Europe more than at any other time in recent history.

America, too, was one of the largest suppliers of arms to Ukraine before Trump broke away from the ranks, hugely weakening the anti-Russia alliance. His initial efforts failed to get the two sides to agree to a ceasefire. The terms of peace were too vague to be accepted by either side.

While Moscow is not willing to cede the territories it has occupied during the war and accept Nato’s presence in the region, Ukraine is not prepared to make any compromise on its sovereignty. The trust gap is too wide to be bridged. Trump’s threat to completely stop America’s arms supply to Ukraine will not work as Europe stands solidly behind the country. In fact, European military support for Kyiv has increased significantly in recent months.