Summary
A senior White House team, led by Steve Witkoff and Mike Waltz, is traveling to Saudi Arabia to set up Ukraine peace talks, excluding both Ukraine and Europe from negotiations.
This move raises concerns about sidelining key stakeholders while favoring direct U.S.-Russia discussions. European leaders, including Macron and Starmer, are meeting in Paris to respond.
Trump’s team has hinted at lifting Russian sanctions, a stance welcomed by the Kremlin.
NATO allies are wary of U.S. inquiries on security guarantees for Ukraine, fearing strategic leaks.
Wtf are we even doing there? Even if we’re trying to sell out Ukraine, I don’t see much happening without Ukraine at the table. The motivators are going to be sticks and carrots. The best carrot I can see the US getting Ukraine is peace or ceasefire alongside the cessation of some of their land. But that ignores that Russia broached peace agreements twice in this mess. So it’s not possible to trust anything Russia offers (kudos on that 4D chess, Putin, you pathetic slobdog).
That leaves leaning on the rest of Europe and continuing the resistance as the only viable option. Unless we give them sticks, which would be insane and fully exile the US as a pariah state from the rest of the free world. It would kill trade and drop us into an instant depression. Which they might think they’re fine with, but that’s quite a shortcut to the guillotine.