Prospects for Peace

Ukraine maintains that it will notsurrender territory. This year, Ukraine abandoned its entirely unrealistic demandsfor afull Russian withdrawaland reparations infavourofa comprehensive ceasefire along the currentfrontlines though this still reflects the absence of any plan that could improve Ukraine's negotiatingposition. Trump has no leveragehere; hecanthreaten weaker states, buthe exercises no influence over Putin

- KRISHNAN SRINIVASAN

It is no coincidence that a tsunami of pro-Ukrainian propaganda, including an oped by leading European pro-NATO ambassadors who advocate pursuing the war until the last Ukrainian, has hit our mainstream media just prior to Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India.

For these Europeans evidently, security and sovereignty are paramount for all countries other than Russia; they raise no objection to the exercise of the Monroe doctrine when it comes to the USA.

Meanwhile, the Ukraine corruption investigation is proceeding in a manner which suggests a campaign aimed at political outcomes representing a scandal that is a blow to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy who is emerging as a lame duck because he cannot reject Washington's mediation since it drastically limits his scope for defiance. The prospect for a US President Trump-inspired peace is more realistic now because a scapegoat has emerged for Ukraine's looming defeat, namely Zelenskyy himself.

Significantly, the negotiation process for peace has been taking place energetically for weeks between the Europeans led by UK, France and Germany, with the US, rather than with Russia, while Moscow repeats that it has not yet been shown any plan.

The talks initiated by Trump earlier this year did not progress because nobody wished to be responsible for an outcome that contrasted with the expectations Western war zealots had promoted, namely, that Russia could be coerced into accepting Western diktats.