- Jan 25, 2025
- 407
There’s a few points in this which I’m not entirely convinced by, but what’s interesting is this:
This puts Putin in a difficult position. If he rejects the offer outright, all bets are off. If he demands the remaining territory he doesn’t occupy be handed over, he looks unreasonable to US/Europe. If he doesn’t, he looks weak domestically and his war goals lose legitimacy. If he makes Trump look foolish by showing the world he was wrong, he knows what that could unleash.
* Nobody reasonable can deny that there’s plenty of circumstantial evidence for collusion. The evidence for incompetence is less appealing to our imaginations but it’s far greater in volume.
www.theguardian.com
And the concluding line:In a sense, Britain and France are putting Trump’s judgment and tactics to the test.
It does seem like this is what’s happening. I’m still sceptical that Trump is colluding with Putin…Hanlon’s razor still applies*.Now the world is going to find out if the American president has assessed Putin and Russia’s intentions correctly.
This puts Putin in a difficult position. If he rejects the offer outright, all bets are off. If he demands the remaining territory he doesn’t occupy be handed over, he looks unreasonable to US/Europe. If he doesn’t, he looks weak domestically and his war goals lose legitimacy. If he makes Trump look foolish by showing the world he was wrong, he knows what that could unleash.
* Nobody reasonable can deny that there’s plenty of circumstantial evidence for collusion. The evidence for incompetence is less appealing to our imaginations but it’s far greater in volume.

Art of a deal: how UK and France led dogged effort to repair US-Ukraine ties – for now
Over 11 days of breakneck diplomacy, Kyiv was convinced of need to pacify Trump, but reconciliation may be all too brief