PEACE FALLS TO PIECES AS TRUMP & ZELENSKYY SPAR

In February 2022, at the start of the war in Ukraine, the Biden administration offered to evacuate Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian president tweeted, "The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride." This week, the third anniversary of the war, Zelenskyy was in Washington to pursue a peace deal pitched by the Trump administration. In one of the ugliest slugfests ever streamed live across the world, Zelenskyy was virtually told by Donald J Trump to take a hike.

- SHANKKAR AIYAR Author of The Gated Republic, Aadhaar: A Biometric History of India's 12 Digit Revolution, and Accidental India ([e-mail])

Context is critical for comprehension. Trump had declared during his campaign that he would end the war in 24 hours. Trump and his MAGA base have clearly been up in arms against the flow of funds to Ukraine. For the self-confessed master of The Art of the Deal, the power equation is spelt by the what's-in-it-for-us question. The answer his team came up with: a chunk of the rare earth minerals buried under Ukraine.

The minerals-for-peace optics has salience for the MAGA base. The US has provided an array of weaponry and spent billions—Trump says it's $350 billion, while a report to the US Congress puts it at $182 billion. Trump's peace deal presents access to critical minerals as a payback for support—lithium for renewable energy, titanium for aerospace and military, graphite for nuclear reactors, and rare earths for electronics. It's also presented as a counter to China's dominance on rare minerals.

Trump believes he can make Vladimir Putin an offer he can't refuse. The orchestration began with a call between Trump and Putin, followed by the choreographed ushering in of Zelenskyy by his European supporters. The incentive for peace goes beyond the human cost. A ceasefire followed by peace would help the European economy too. It would allow the European Central Bank to cut rates, bring down energy prices and provide opportunities in the reconstruction of Ukraine.