Former Trump adviser John Bolton didn't mince words on Trump's upcoming meeting with Putin in Alaska. Unlike the Trump suck-ups on Fox, Bolton wasn't impressed with Trump trying to force Ukraine to cede territory to Russia, something Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already flatly rejected:
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Saturday flatly rejected President Trump’s proposal that a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia could include “some swapping of territories” — a plan that would in effect mean ceding land to Moscow.
“Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” Mr. Zelensky said in a video address from his office in Kyiv, several hours after Mr. Trump’s remarks.
“Any decisions made against us, any decisions made without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace,” Mr. Zelensky said. “They will bring nothing. These are dead decisions; they will never work.”
Bolton was asked about the so-called "deal" by CNN's Kaitlan Collins this Friday, and Bolton likened it to Trump inviting the Taliban to Camp David:
COLLINS: And Ambassador Bolton, it's great to have you here.
I mean, you were in the room in 2018, in Helsinki, when this happened. What do you make of the fact that Putin has now been invited to Alaska?
BOLTON: Well, it's very gracious of Putin to come to former Russian America for this summit. This is not quite as bad as Trump inviting the Taliban to Camp David, to talk about the peace negotiations in Afghanistan, but it certainly reminds one of that.
The only better place for Putin than Alaska would be if the summit were being held in Moscow. So, the initial setup, I think, is a great victory for Putin. He's a rogue leader of a pariah state, and he's going to be welcomed into the United States.
Second, I have a feeling, this is sliding very quickly in Russia's direction. We're not quite back at February the 28th, in the Oval Office, when Trump told Zelenskyy, You don't have any cards. But what's happening is that Russia and the United States are discussing what terms they're going to present to Zelenskyy, and it may well be that Zelenskyy has no choice here. Surrendering is always one way to get a peace deal.
And it seems to me, you listen to Trump talking about how things are progressing, that even without the meeting, Putin's got his old magic back, with Trump. And all that disappointment, all that outrage, so on and so forth, now you're talking about a deal between Trump and Putin? Think of the press that will get. I have to say, from the strategic perspective, from the U.S. interest perspective, this was not a good day.
[...]
BOLTON: Yes, well, by the way, they could have met in Geneva or Vienna. They're basically--
COLLINS: Yes.
BOLTON: --considered U.N. cities, and the ICC warrant could have been waived, and I don't think anybody would have objected, frankly.
Look, if Trump really wanted to get an equitable peace deal here, he could certainly listen to what Putin had to say. But they're doing a lot more than listening. They could -- they could receive the material and send it to Zelenskyy, and hear what he thought of it first.
This sounds an awful lot, from what we know publicly, and certainly we may not know at all, of the quote-unquote, Peace plan that JD Vance proposed in the fall of last year, during the campaign, where, essentially, Russia keeps all the territory it currently holds, a demilitarized zone, maybe with a peacekeeping force on the Ukrainian side is set up, and Ukraine pledges not to join NATO.
If Ukraine agrees to a ceasefire here, it's agreeing to its new border with Russia, effectively. I think this is a very dangerous point for Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government.
Once again, Trump's so bad he's got me agreeing with John Bolton.
