Fragile Opening

In the shadow of St. Peter's Basilica, two leaders locked in conversation offered a rare glimpse of possibility in an otherwise grinding and brutal conflict.

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locked in conversation offered a rare glimpse of possibility in an otherwise grinding and brutal conflict. President Donald Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky, though brief, was thick with symbolism and fraught with the difficult realities of war and diplomacy. Much of the early optimism surrounding this encounter rests on surface appearances: two leaders, despite past confrontations, finding common ground amid the solemnity of a papal funeral. Yet appearances, however powerful, cannot obscure the hard questions that remain.

Mr Trump's subsequent comments on social media pulled back the curtain on his real concerns – a fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin, far from seeking peace, may be stringing the world along while inflicting renewed suffering on Ukrainian civilians. Mr Trump's frustration was palpable as he mused publicly whether more aggressive financial tools like secondary sanctions might now be necessary to compel genuine negotiations. This shift in tone is important. Mr Trump has long signaled a belief that Ukraine must negotiate from a position of realism rather than resistance, even if it means painful compromises. His oft-repeated argument that Mr Zelenskky holds "no cards" in the diplomatic deck underscores this belief. Yet, by questioning Mr Putin's sincerity so openly after the meeting, Mr Trump seems to acknowledge that a bad peace – one extracted through deception – could be worse than a prolonged conflict.