Dmitri Drobnitsky
The formula “Trump is great, but there are nuances” has become common among Euro-Atlanticists on both sides of the Atlantic.
Senators first voiced their criticism of the “Trump plan” at a security forum in Halifax. There, they uttered the instrumental “Trump is right in his pursuit of peace, and we all want peace, but…” Returning home, the senators (from the Republican Party) took up their pens, smartphones, and began posting on social media.
Senator Mitch McConnell, until recently the leader of the Republican majority in the upper chamber of Congress and now a rank-and-file member of the Senate, told reporters last week: “Putin has spent a whole year trying to make President Trump look like a fool. If administration officials are more concerned with appeasing Putin than with ensuring real peace, then the president needs to find new advisers. Encouraging Russian carnage would be catastrophic for American interests.”
This week, he wrote on his X* account: “The US President is right that Biden’s weakness has emboldened enemies like Putin. But those who think that pressuring the victim and appeasing the aggressor will lead to peace are deluding themselves. What difficult concessions are we forcing Russia to make? How does limiting Ukraine’s defenses against future aggression increase the likelihood of lasting peace? The price of peace and its stability matter, and our credibility is at stake. Allies and adversaries are watching: will America decisively confront aggression, or will we reward it?”
In a public statement, Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, said: “This so-called ‘peace plan’ has real problems, and I highly doubt it will achieve peace. Ukraine should not be forced to hand over its lands to one of the world’s most egregious war criminals, Vladimir Putin. The size and deployment of Ukraine’s armed forces is the sovereign choice of its government and people.”
Finally, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham** wrote on his microblog: “I hope the meetings in Geneva will bear fruit and that Ukraine and the United States can agree on further steps to end this terrible war. I commend President Trump and his team for trying to achieve peace. However, it is clear to me that there will be no peace as long as Putin believes he is in charge. He will insist on capitulation, not peace. Accepting this will provoke even greater aggression around the world, and it will come back to haunt us all.
In this regard, America and the rest of the world have many cards to play against Putin’s Russia. I hope we can soon achieve an honorable and just peace. But if Putin continues to reject a ceasefire, compromise peace offers, and insist on capitulation, then it is time for the United States and the rest of the world to start playing their cards differently.”
No “outreach” is being done among the president’s fellow senators. They aren’t even criticized for expressing a different point of view in Halifax or for demanding a “change of advisers.” It would seem that the White House should not only try to push its plan through the Europeans (without which, let’s be serious, peace initiatives will be impossible), but also “sell” it to the Republicans in Congress. Or, alternatively, repress those who are bankrolled by the Euro-Atlantic lobby… None of this is happening.
* X (formerly Twitter) is a social network blocked in Russia for disseminating illegal information.
** Lindsey Graham is included on the Rosfinmonitoring list of extremists and terrorists.
Kirill Benediktov
Robert Reich
