[marcusmaximus]

More from FT: Putin “does not exclude” that Ukraine could “maintain sovereignty” over Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions provided it gives Russia access to Crimea through them. “Kyiv has to guarantee a servitut [a legal term for a right to use land].”

[scan_complete]

Donald Trump to slap the euroweenies into shape.

[Gnome1949]

Sabotage by Europeans.

[Mariner]

“Merz and other European leaders demand that Putin first agrees to a ceasefire before any peace talks or land swaps between Moscow and Kyiv can take place. They have also made clear that any potential land swaps must be balanced and in agreement with Kyiv, and that Ukraine should further receive valuable security guarantees to protect it against further aggressions.”

Demand in one hand, and sh!t in the other.

See which fills first.

[SmokingJoe]

Why?
Trump doesn't need any nonsense from European grifters who are interested in forever wars paid for by US tax payers.

[Williams]

Same countries that dragged their feet on weapons for Ukraine. Especially Germany.

[tumblindice]

Before you go, how about releasing the Epstein files, including full client list?

>No can do. Innocent paedophiles could be hurt.

[nathanbedford]

The comments on this thread reflect an inverted perception of the state of play in Ukraine that is a hangover from the old isolationist wing of the Republican Party, reinforced in its misunderstanding by the comments of Donald Trump during the oval office fiasco when the president insisted that Ukraine "had no cards."

The neo-Trumpian position is to back Ukraine so long as it can be done so at profit. This flip-flop no doubt his a result of new intelligence coming to President Trump to the effect that Putin's domestic position and capacity to wage war has considerably weakened.

Putin is facing a crumbling economy, surging inflation, corruption without end in his military, stalemate as far as the eye can see, increased crippling international sanctions depriving him of what few Rubles he has left with which to wage war, and increasingly unsupportable human losses for no or little geographic gain.

Because of this new reality, Europe is quite right to admonish the president not to conduct this negotiation backwards as he did his first negotiation with Putin when Trump caved entirely and turned the pressure to surrender onto Zelinski.

The good news, Trump seems to have backed into solidifying NATO.

[missthethunder]

I still don’t think it’s fair that Trump has to deal with the Coke Heads.

[Petrosius]

Give the Russians the (non-exclusive) use of one rail line and one highway, and then leave the rest. Sort of like we had access to West Berlin through East Germany.

[Kazan]

What the EU thinks should be completely irrelevant to Trump.

If the EU rejects any peace deal Trump works it, it can assume 100% responsibility for the war in Ukraine.

[pierrem15]

There's a lot of baseless speculation so far. I think Trump's bringing up a "swap" is a good idea. Russia can get all of Luhansk (which it already has) Donetsk (maybe with adjusted borders) and recognition of Crimea, while Ukraine gets Kherson and Zaporizhia back (maybe with transit and/or water rights) and some security guarantees + EU membership.

This is a peace plan and not just a "ceasefire" of dubious benefit to both sides.