Ronald Reagan frequently used the phrase “trust but verify,” a Russian proverb he adopted when talking about relations with the Soviet Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin gives every reason for President Donald Trump and US allies to “never trust and always verify.”
Talking is important, but Russia’s past actions are significant as are facts surrounding the roles of the US and its allies in Ukraine. Both got lost last Friday as President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy participated in a White House brawl.
The Wall Street Journal in a headline declared “Putin Wins.” Then Sunday, Dimitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson, declared that the Trump administration “is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations,” which “largely aligns with our vision.”
Two photos — Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, with her head in her hand and Secretary of State Marco Rubio slouched next to Vice President J.D. Vance — say a lot about the outcome of last Friday’s meeting.
The ambassador was clearly not happy about the exchange between her boss and President Trump over whether guarantees would be part of a ceasefire. Zelenskyy pointed to Putin’s repeated violation of earlier “deals.” Trump said, “he didn’t break them with me.”
While he held a summit with Putin, followed by a press conference with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, in July 2018, Trump didn’t make a deal. He did say he doubted U.S. intelligence that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election.
At last week’s press conference Trump was asked what happens if Putin breaks a ceasefire. He trusts him, noting Putin “went through a hell of a lot with me … Russia, Russia, Russia … That was a phony … Hunter Biden, Joe Biden scam.”
Rubio should be “embarrassed.” It was then Sen. Marco Rubio, who chaired the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, that found “… the Russian government engaged in an aggressive, multi-faceted effort to influence or attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.”
Putin shattered trust in 2014 when he ignored the 1994 Budapest Memorandum that led to Ukraine giving up its nuclear arsenal. Russia, the U.S. and the United Kingdom provided “security guarantees” for Ukraine’s sovereignty.
In February that year, following a popular uprising in Ukraine against an unpopular leader aligned with Putin, Russian troops seized Crimea. By summer a wider conflict was underway in eastern Ukraine with pro-Russian separatists and later Russian troops engaged. In August 2014 “Putin personally called for a ‘humanitarian corridor’ so Ukrainian troop could retreat to safety … .” More than 300 retreating troops were reportedly ambushed and slaughtered.
Two ceasefire agreements followed. Neither held as fighting continued in eastern Ukrainian provinces, which set the stage for the full-scale 2022 invasion.
In his 2023 book “The Russo-Ukrainian War,” Harvard historian Serhii Plokhy, wrote that Putin envisioned Russia leading a Eurasian Union: “For Putin, Ukraine was the key — without the second-largest post-Soviet republic, the Eurasian Union would not be able to perform its function as one of his ‘poles’ of the contemporary world.”
Unfortunately, it was a good week for Russia. The US on Feb. 24 sided with Russia, Belarus and others voting against a UN resolution calling for “an early cessation of hostilities” and blaming Russia for “the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.” By Friday, Russian leaders were thanking Trump. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev wrote of Zelenskyy that “The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office.”
Zelenskyy’s a tough guy. He’s led his nation through three years of a brutal war. He’s marshalled wide international support but hasn’t asked any country for troops. He doesn’t take kindly to a bully who claims he’s “tougher than any human being you’ve ever seen.” It’s not a good mix in front of cameras to have a real tough wartime leader in a room with someone who claims to be even tougher. The dialogue needs to continue but stay focused on substance while avoiding another media spectacle that serves no nation’s best interests.
Cape Ann resident Carl Gustin is a retired corporate and government executive and former director of press services at the US Department of Energy in Washington, D.C.