And so the passionate 'bromance' between Trump and Putin, which many thought had broken down has, once again, erupted into a 'volcanic and passionate flame'.
As the ether of the world is now 'buzzing' with the proposal of an upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin, Sam Kiley (left) reports that,
"A Trump-Putin summit will be as useful to Ukraine and democracy as Agent Orange is for gardening" (remember Vietnam?) (The Independent on MSN: 7 August 2025) (my emphasis)
Sam Kiley goes on to report that,
"A long-overdue summit between the presidents of the United States and the Russian Federation to discuss peace in Ukraine, where nuclear war has been threatened, must be seen as a historic moment for optimism.
Except that from London to Langley, Berlin, Canberra and Tokyo, intelligence chiefs will be on tenterhooks wondering whether this is another occasion resembling the meeting between an agent and his handler." (ibid Sam Kiley)
Sam Kiley goes on to report that,
"Putin is obsessed with returning Ukraine to the former Russian (or Soviet) empire i.e.[ Novorossiya ] He has never hidden his ambition to do so and consistently denies that Ukraine is an independent entity at all.
…
When he met Putin for his first summit in Helsinki in July 2018, he did so for more than two hours with only a US translator in the room with him and the Russian delegation. He snatched away the translator’s notes after the meeting." (ibid Sam Kiley) (cf: blog entry 12/07/2018)
(ibid blog entry 12/07/2018)
(ibid blog entry 12/07/2018)
As Ivor Bennett (left) reported earlier in May 2025,
"But now, Trump is casting a one-on-one with Putin as the keystone to peace. There will be no movement towards peace without it, he said on Thursday.
It's exactly the position Moscow craves - carving up Ukraine without Kyiv at the table." (Sky News: 16 May 2025) (my emphasis)
As Max Boot (left) also wrote in May 2025,
"But rather than trying to pressure Putin into a ceasefire agreement and forcing him to moderate his demands, Trump appears to be getting ready to wash his hands of the entire conflict. Talking to reporters later on Monday in the Oval Office, Trump said, “Big egos involved, but I think something’s going to happen. And if it doesn’t—just going to have to back away and keep going.” (Council on Foreign Relations: 20 May 2025) (my emphasis)
Max Boot went on to write that,
"If the United States cuts off Ukraine, the Europeans can and should keep that embattled nation going by making the investments that will allow Ukrainians to defend themselves with Ukrainian-made weapons. As most Europeans realize by now, this is not an act of charity but simple self-defense: If Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, he could threaten Finland, the Baltic Republics, and Poland next." (ibid Max Boot) And now, Ivor Bennett reports that (from video below),
"... The next meeting [between Trump and Putin] could be in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
...
[Vladimir Putin] said it would be a suitable location .. which sounded like a very strong hint.
...
Crucially for Russia it [the UAE] is not a member of the ICC [International Criminal Court] so Vladimir Putin does not have to worry about being arrested ..." (Sky News: 8 August 2025) (my emphasis)
In contrast to Trump's upcoming meeting with Putin in, possibly, the UAE, Charlotte Van Campenhout reports that,
"French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday reaffirmed France's full support for a ceasefire in Ukraine and the launch of talks aimed at reaching a lasting and solid peace, following a "long discussion" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other European leaders." (Reuters: 7 August 2025) (my emphasis) Let us recall that,
"…..[Witkoff]
was tasked with negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine War, and he
met with Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin on several occasions. Witkoff’s proposed peace plans have featured several Russian demands, including the ownership of five regions in Ukraine. That point was rejected by Ukraine."(Britannica)
As Franco Ordonez (right) also wrote in April 2025,
"Witkoff and the president have been friends for almost 40 years. Trump calls Witkoff "a special guy" and "my pal." Their friendship dates back to a chance encounter at a New York Deli at 3 a.m
…
Witkoff said in an interview with Tucker Carlson that he learned the real estate business from Trump.
…
Once in office, Trump picked his old friend as his envoy to the Middle East. It was the same position that Trump — in his first term — had given to another person whose loyalty was unquestioned: his son-in-law, Jared Kushner." (WUSF (NPR): 25 April 2025) (my emphasis)
One can assume that Trump, in his possible upcoming meeting with Putin in the UAE, will take into account the report to Trump, by Witkoff, of his recent meeting with Putin, bearing in mind that,
"Witkoff’s [previous] proposed peace plans [to end the war in Ukraine have] featured several Russian demands, including the ownership of five regions in Ukraine." (Britannica)
As Sam Kiley writes,
"The Trump-Putin summit will be as useful to Ukraine and democracy as Agent Orange is for gardening."
Is Trump about to sell out Ukraine to Putin?
URGENT UPDATE : 9 August 2025: GMT 05:10
At the beginning of this blog I wrote yesterday that,
"And so the 'bromance' between Trump and Putin, which many thought had broken down has, once again, erupted into a 'volcanic and passionate flame'."
And just two hours ago BBC News reported that,
"US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska next Friday to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine.
…
..it was later confirmed by a Kremlin spokesperson, who said the location was "quite logical" given Alaska's relative proximity to Russia.
…
Russian demands include:=
- Ukraine becoming a neutral state,
- dramatically reducing its military
- and abandoning its Nato aspirations,
- as well as the lifting of Western sanctions imposed on Russia.
Moscow also wants :-
- Kyiv to withdraw its military from the four regions which Russia partially occupies in south-east Ukraine,
- and to demobilise its soldiers. (Courtney Subramanian and Ali Abbas Ahmadi: BBC News: 9 August 2025) (my emphasis)
As Andrew Stanton and Barney Henderson of Newsweek also reports,
"The United States and Russia are aiming to secure a peace deal that would lock in Russia's gains in Ukraine following its invasion three and a half years ago, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The deal would mean Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky giving up the entire eastern Donbas, Crimea and parts of Luhansk and Donetsk, where fighting is still raging, unnamed sources told Bloomberg." (Newsweek: 8 August 2025) (my emphasis)
To say that, "Trump is about to sell out Ukraine to Putin", is an understatement.
Trump is about to :-
- lock in Russia's gains in Ukraine following its invasion of Crimea in 2014
- walk away from UK and EU concerns about Putin's long-term and 'demented' goal to resuscitate the collapsed Soviet Union, thus threatening the freed EU countries of the former Soviet eastern bloc,
- upend UN rules about the inviolability of international borders,
- and walk away from NATO
And to cap it all, in Alaska Putin is safe from arrest by the ICC [International Criminal Court] because former US President Clinton (right) argued that,"The United States should have the chance to observe and assess the
functioning of the [ICC] court, over time, before choosing to become subject
to its jurisdiction." (Wikipedia)
notwithstanding,
"Former U.S. State Department Legal Advisor Monroe Leigh has said:
The list of due process rights guaranteed by the Rome Statute are, if anything, more detailed and comprehensive than those in the U.S. Bill of Rights. ... I can think of no right guaranteed to military personnel by the U.S. Constitution that is not also guaranteed in the Treaty of Rome." (Wikipedia)
The touchpaper of WW3 is on the brink of being lit at the upcoming Trump-Putin meeting.
And all thanks to Trump, the 'myopic' and 'failed' so-called 'deal maker (Michael Hiltzik: Los Angeles Times on Yahoo Finance: 18 May, 2022) sitting in the White House and being blackmailed by Putin, fondling his 'voluminous KGB folder of the 'kompromat' he collected about Trump during his former visits to Moscow. (cf "The Steele Dossier")
Whither now the UK and the EU?
Konstantin Samoilov (right: cf. also video below) is of the opinion that,
But unfortunately for BOTH Trump and Vance, Ukraine's President, Volodomyr Zelensky (left), as reported by France 24,
