Vice President JD Vance called on Ukraine to accept a peace proposal he and his Russian counterparts had proposed on Wednesday. If not, he said the U.S. would have no alternative but to “walk away” from negotiations. Coming soon after Vance announced he would not attend continuing peace talks in London, the statement gave a second shock to European diplomats who had been working closely with Ukraine on the matter.
President Trump himself weighed in with comments demonstrating frustration that the two countries were not reaching a peace agreement, an accomplishment he claimed during his presidential election run would take him a single day. He summarized the participants by saying, “You’re foolish, you’re fools, you’re horrible people, and we’re going to just take a pass.”
Alexander Churnof of the American Enterprise Institute presumed Trump was “simply applying the principles spelled out in his popular book, The Art of the Deal. “Insult everyone in the room and threaten to walk out forever. It’s a classic negotiation tactic. With his tendency toward temper tantrums, this technique so fits his style. It’s a wonder to see him in action!”
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, abandoning peace efforts between Ukraine and Russia, made a surprising reference to an alternative plan. “I don’t know why Zelensky is so opposed to having Russians occupy his eastern countryside. Russia would be a great partner for growth. Why, President Trump and I have contemplated the idea of merging our two great countries. We could be the Bering East region of Russia. After all, our countries are only separated by 55 miles of the Bering Sea. We’re practically neighbors! We have so much in common, especially under our new administration.”
Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s chief negotiator with Russia, is said to be traveling to Moscow. The trip so soon after Mr. Rubio’s comments create confusion as to whether the talks will center around Ukraine or a US annexation.
In other news, the US stock market rallied on the news. “At least they seem to have a plan. With the uncertainty of the last two weeks, we’ll take anything!”
