He boldly claimed that brokering a deal between Hamas and Israel would be more challenging than ending the war in Ukraine, a task he has repeatedly asserted he could accomplish within 24 hours.
While his historic speech to the Israeli parliament showered praise on an enamoured Benjamin Netanyahu, much of it was indirectly aimed at Putin, who has been skillfully manipulating him and the West. Despite employing a variety of tactics – fanfare, charm, stern messages, and the threat of escalating economic sanctions – Trump has failed to rein in Putin each time.
The only option left on the table is military force.
Ending the war in Gaza hinged on convincing Israel to halt its devastating bombing campaign, a task made significantly easier with the U.S. supplying hardware to one of its staunchest allies.
Trump’s claim that America possesses the “greatest and most powerful military in the history of the world (with) weapons that nobody’s ever dreamt of” is likely accurate, but the idea of deploying them in Europe is far-fetched.
Unlike Israel and Netanyahu, Putin – a despotic imperialist who has maintained a firm hold on Russia for 25 years – is an adversary, not an ally.
From his stronghold in Novo-Ogaryovo, he would have watched Trump’s speech, laughing at his boasting and dismissing the idea of America supplying Ukraine with US-made long-range Tomahawk missiles.
While these missiles could potentially enable Kyiv to strike deep within Russia – including Moscow – in what would be an unthinkable escalation of the nearly four-year conflict, what does Putin stand to gain when Europe is reducing its military support to Kyiv?
With so few options left to counter Putin, except direct military intervention or a significant increase in military support – both of which are highly unlikely – there is no realistic expectation of immediate progress.
Despite Trump’s assertion that “Steve is going to get it done”, one insurmountable hurdle remains in preventing a war that has already resulted in over 1 million casualties: China.
Although Moscow and Beijing are not official military allies, their relationship is ominously described as having “no limits” and is based on a single, mutual objective: curbing U.S. influence and challenging a US-led global order.
Trump’s self-proclaimed peace in the Middle East has arguably made achieving a similar outcome in Ukraine significantly more challenging.
Trump is aware that this is a war he cannot alter, let alone win, and the harsh reality is that peace in Ukraine is now further away than at any point during his second term in the White House.
While he may have been able to influence Netanyahu with flattery, if he hasn’t already, he will soon learn the hard way that Putin is far from being easily swayed.
