Mr. Trump, who is in the Middle East, first said he might take a side trip to Turkey if peace talks took place. But after Mr. Putin bugged out, Mr. Trump tried to smooth over the embarrassment by saying “nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together.”
It’s closer to reality to say that nothing is going to happen until Mr. Putin feels he has an incentive to show up and negotiate. Mr. Putin’s no-show is the latest evidence that the Russian isn’t serious about ending the war, and it’s no surprise. Mr. Putin thinks Mr. Trump might abandon Ukraine and make it easier for him to keep taking Ukrainian territory.
Mr. Trump has made a sincere effort to broker an end to the war, but the President looks worse the longer Mr. Putin talks peace but prosecutes the war. Mr. Trump doesn’t want the world to see him looking like a supplicant to the Kremlin.
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