Trump's Shortcut, Putin's Applause, and Europe's Test

Negotiations to end the Ukraine-Russia war were attempted by US President Donald Trump. Despite various efforts made by many parties, there is one important thing that must be underlined. Peace cannot be achieved through shortcuts, especially if it involves territorial capitulation.

On Friday (14/2/2025), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with United States Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. Two days earlier, on Wednesday (12/2/2025), US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth spoke at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meeting in Brussels, Belgium.

Hegseth made a statement that drew criticism from European countries and NATO members. According to him, there is no point in the world expecting Ukraine's borders to return to what they were before 2014.

That was the time before, as the West calls it, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Moscow denies having annexed Crimea, arguing that Crimea's joining—factually recognized as part of Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991—to Russia was based on the results of the March 16, 2014 referendum.

Russia then occupied four other regions, namely Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv since they invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Hegseth stated that the world must think realistically. First, Ukraine is unlikely to join NATO if this war is to end and there is to be a guarantee of long-term peace.

"Second, Ukraine's borders are not going to go back to their pre-2014 levels and this is not a concession to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. We have to accept the hard reality on the ground that after a lot of investment and sacrifice, both sides are not accepting the proposed demarcation line," Hegseth said, as quoted by The Hill on February 14, 2025.

A few hours before Hegseth spoke before the delegates of NATO member countries, Trump called Putin. Russia remains steadfast in its stance that Ukraine must become a neutral buffer zone, not allowed to join any specific defense bloc.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius accused the US of siding with Russia at the NATO meeting. Moreover, so far, Europe, NATO, and the US under President Joe Biden (2021-2025) have tried to isolate Russia and mandate that Russia leave the Ukrainian territories they occupy.

"Now, peace talks are not underway, but the US has already made public concessions to Putin," Pistorius said.

While Europe is nervous about Hegseth's remarks, Russia is reportedly welcoming Washington's initiative with joy. Evgeny Popov, host of the 60 Minutes program on the Kremlin-affiliated Russia-1 channel, said that Russia has always wanted to dismantle Europe.

"Unexpectedly, it turned out that Trump made it happen," Popov said in the broadcast.

Pro-Russian commentators were surprised by the speed with which Trump did it. They knew Trump's presidency would benefit Russia. But they didn't expect it to happen less than a month into his presidency.

As reported by The Independent, Mosfilm Director General Karen Shakhnazarov when interviewed by Russia-1 said that this series of events was a success for Russia.

"The US president calling the Russian president after sanctions and isolation alone would restore Russia's international prestige," Shakhnazarov said.

Another factor that Russia responded well to was Hegseth's statement. In essence, the US chose to focus on various security issues at home. According to him, the US has kept its promise to provide financial and security support for Europe.

Hegseth echoed Trump's complaint that not all NATO members have fulfilled their commitment to contribute 2 percent of their respective budgets. Therefore, Trump considered NATO to be freeloading on the US's hard work.

"It's fair to say that future funding is something that needs to be renegotiated," Hegseth said.

The 60 Minutes and Evening with Vladimir Solovyov programs on Russia-1 began to say that this was a sign that the US was abandoning Article 5 of the NATO Charter. This article states that an attack on one or more NATO countries is considered an attack on all NATO members and all members are obliged to come to the aid of the attacked country.

However, according to Solovyov's estimates, if one of NATO's members were attacked now, the US would not step in to defend it.

"Theoretically, we could attack London or Brussels and the US would not interfere. This fact should be clearly understood by European countries," said Sergey Mikheyev, a Russian political analyst.

Trump has been touting his ability to resolve the Ukraine-Russia war since he was campaigning for the November 2024 US presidential election. At the time, he said he could end the war overnight, armed only with a phone call and his closeness to Putin.

Trump said in a press conference at the White House on Thursday (2/13/2025) that the Ukraine war was a waste of time. "So many beautiful young people were killed just like that. This is a senseless war," he said.

Trump did eventually call Putin. White House sources said the two heads of state spoke for 1.5 hours. However, this was not the development the public had hoped for. The US and Europe had promised that there would be no talks on Ukraine without involving Kyiv.

Trump's actions are considered to be merely taking a shortcut. This seems to show that, for Trump, as long as the war is over, the problem is also over. He does not think about long-term peace or justice.

"Trump wants to end the war at all costs similar to Neville Chamberlain," Ivo Daalder, a former US ambassador to NATO, told the Los Angeles Times.

Chamberlain was the British Prime Minister from 1937 to 1940. He signed the Munich Agreement, which recognized Nazi Germany's capitulation of the Sudetenland, which actually belonged to Czechoslovakia, so that the open conflict would end soon. Chamberlain's move was later considered as one of the factors that opened the way for the Nazis to carry out various invasions in Europe.

"After 76 years, the US is now an unreliable partner. Putin will become even more confident," said Daalder, who now serves as chairman of the Chicago Council on Foreign Policy (CCGA).

In Indonesia, the view on the involvement of Ukraine and European countries for peace talks has also been expressed by representatives of Poland and Finland. Capitulation or recognition of territories occupied by the invaders is not an option. Recently, Denmark also expressed similar views.

"After all, Europe is directly affected by the Ukrainian war because it is happening right in front of us. Of course, it is only natural that all parties directly involved in this conflict should sit together and negotiate," said Danish Ambassador to Indonesia Sten Fremodt Nielsen in Jakarta, Saturday (15/2/2025).

Amid the current dynamics, Zelenskyy remains firm in his stance that Ukraine should not be outmaneuvered by anyone, including the US, which has been helping them a lot in terms of costs and weapons. Initially, Zelenskyy had spoken to Trump and agreed that Ukraine would provide a larger portion of their rare earth metals to the US.

Rare earth metals are a combination of 17 minerals that are essential in making chips and sophisticated electronic equipment. For the US, rare earth metals are a basic need to develop their military industry.

Zelenskyy finally ordered his ministers not to sign any agreements with the US, especially those concerning the excavation and extraction of rare earth metals, because the US has shown no willingness to protect Ukraine or its interests.

He also said peace talks must be supported by many parties. "Negotiations with Putin can only be carried out when there is a common view between Ukraine, Europe and the US," Zelenskyy tweeted on X. (AP/Reuters)