“The root causes of the conflict.”
These were startling words from a man purportedly on the path to peace.
But it is the nub of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position of what must be solved for peace, after two weeks, or three months, depending on how you count, of mounting pressure for an immediate unconditional 30-day ceasefire. Unbothered, taking this most consequential of calls at a music school on the Sochi coast, the Kremlin head has returned to the start – to his false narrative about this war of choice being sparked by NATO expanding too fast.
And if Trump pulls USA out, the rest of the world will see this as America losing yet another war. It’ll be seen as weak despite all that hardware, troops and bravado. That’ll undermine its negotiation position against China and encourage others groups to just ignore Trump when he threatens someone, like Panama.