Trump Fails At "Negotiating" With Putin

The Russian asset Malignant Fascist is desperate for a "deal" with his friend war criminal and thug Vladimir Putin for an initial ceasefire in Ukraine. So much so that he's prepared to give away Ukrainian land and more to please Putin, who is already upping the price for a ceasefire, as evidenced by Putin's almost meaningless agreement not to bomb energy infrastructure in Ukraine. It's an easy "give" for Putin, since Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been decimated already. From The Guardian:

"Donald Trump began his conversation with Vladimir Putin with a simple demand: a 30-day ceasefire on land, sea and air which Ukraine has already signed up to, as an initial measure on which to build towards a peace.

Instead, what the US president got from Putin were questions, half-offers and limited concessions – and, above all, an extraordinary demand from the Russian leader to weaken Ukraine that would make a mockery of any peace agreement.

The 'key condition' for resolving the conflict, the Kremlin said in a statement after the call, should be 'the complete cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv'. [snip]

So bold is the demand, it is hard to believe that Putin is entirely serious. 'It sounds like the Russians are projecting their desires,' said Matthew Savill, an analyst with the Royal United Services Institute thinktank, simply describing the Kremlin position as 'incompatible' with the European-led security plan." (our emphasis)

The Russians know they're not dealing with an "adversary" in the MF, but an asset that can be manipulated. On a humiliating note, Putin made the MF wait for an hour before he took his call. They're certain that he's dealing from a position of weakness, needing a "win" domestically as his agenda is starting to crater, and not caring about Ukraine's future as a democracy free from its neighbor's tyranny. As a sign of their toying with the MF, the Russians continue to attack Ukrainian hospitals, apartment buildings and other public places. As Russia expert Julia Ioffe said this morning:

“I think the Russians are very well aware that Trump just wants to get – just to continue the sports metaphor – points on the board,” she said. “He just wants to make a deal, he almost doesn't care what the deal looks like, and so they're just they're like, ‘Sure let's declare a deal, he'll give us basically whatever they want.’”

Putin knows the MF likes to portray himself as a sports jock, so he gave the MF an inducement to meet the Kremlin's demands: a U.S. - Russia hockey match. Don't be surprised if the MF accepted it.

BONUS: Cathy Young at The Bulwark has a smart article on the bogus "peace deal" talk.