Yes, it seems pretty good to me.

I am talking about what I understand to be the Trump proposal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. As I understand it, it would be an agreement between Russia and the United States to end the war. At least, that is how it was described in the broadcast I heard this morning. Ukraine is not yet part of the deal (I am not sure if Russia and the US actually have a deal yet), and will be expected to be bludgeoned by the two superpowers to agree to it. I would suspect that, if Russia and the US have reached an agreement and Ukraine does not agree, Russia will increase its bombing, the US will stop protesting, and the US will stop giving any support whatsoever to Ukraine’s resistance. That sounds fair, doesn’t it?

Now, I am just going by a CBS radio broadcast I heard this morning, but what I understand is that Ukraine would agree to three things: (1) Crimea is Russia, (2) the eastern part of Ukraine which Russia now occupies remains with Russia [Russia has already “annexed” it]; and (3) Ukraine will never, never, never try to become a member of NATO. When asked if Russia was giving anything up, our President says that they are being asked to give up a lot. When pressed to be a little more precise, he said: Russia will be giving up the right to keep fighting.

So, as I say, that sounds fair. That is, if you are Russian. If you are Russian, then you would describe this proposal as follows: We win!

It does put Zelensky in a tough place, and I don’t know enough about what is going on internally in Ukraine to know what popular sentiment would want. Look at it from a couple of ways.

As to Crimea, the home of Russia’s naval base (decimated in the Black Sea from what it was prior to the conflict), there are more Russian speakers than Ukrainian speakers. Neither group is native to the place, but the Soviets moved the natives out of Crimea long ago. On the other hand, Crimea is part of Ukraine’s identity, has the best weather of any place around, controls the northern part of the Black Sea, and – not least – is part of Ukraine, as it has been since Khrushchev’s time, and as it has been when the boundaries of Ukraine were demarcated thirty years ago.

As to Donbas in the east of Ukraine, also a part of the country since its creation with the breakup of the Soviet Union and part of the Ukraine SSR during Soviet time, it is the industrial base of the state, but not the agricultural base. And the industrial facilities are heavy, dirty, old and to a great extent out of step with the 21st century. It is also by far the poorest part of Ukraine and, again, has a large number of Russian speakers. I understand that no country wants to lose part of itself, but…..I honestly do not know if Ukraine of the future would be better off with this region, or without this region.

As to NATO, I don’t know how you can enforce this if, say, twenty years from now Ukraine and NATO think that its joining would be beneficial for both.

On the other hand, if there is one thing Ukraine knows, it is that Russia (even beyond Putin) can’t be trusted and that Russia does not believe that Ukraine really is a separate country (I know, that might be two things). How do you reach an agreement with a party you distrust in this manner, particularly when there are no security arrangements being put in place. And, from the perspective of the rest of Europe, which also does not trust Russia, how do you keep from feeling that once Russia wins the Ukraine war, a war with Lithuania, say, won’t be far behind, with similar results. For that matter, why wouldn’t China feel the same way when it comes to deciding their next step regarding Taiwan?

I was thinking the other day about Trump telling Zelensky he should just give in, so that the fighting will stop. King George could have told that to George Washington, no? And someone could certainly have told that to Abraham Lincoln. Such messages are somewhat circular: stop fighting while the war’s results are still up in the air because if you stop fighting, you will be able to stop fighting. And when the party being asked to stop fighting didn’t start the fighting, you are simply back to the big guy bullying the little guy.

Donald Trump certainly has no problem with Russia starting a war to take over all or part of another country. He probably has no real problem if China decides to invade Taipei, because it would mean one less headache for him to manage in the long run. And after all, we have to keep in mind that he believes that the United States can takeover Canada, Greenland and Panama on whatever basis he chooses. Oh, yes, and Gaza.

Speaking of Gaza…….you know what? I’d really rather not right now. Maybe later. It’s already time for lunch.