The Washington Post insider David Ignatius laid out the details of the peace plan that the U.S., Ukraine, and Europe...

The Washington Post insider David Ignatius laid out the details of the peace plan that the U.S., Ukraine, and Europe were developing in Miami, and that Witkoff and Kushner were supposed to take to Putin in Moscow. (But then Trump announced the diesel deal and everything fell apart).

I’ll say right away: there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING new in this plan, but Ignatius explains how the White House sees it from the inside. The details he gives are useful for understanding just how detached from reality the Trump administration is, and how completely it fails to understand the meaning Putin attaches to this war.

In bullet points, it fits into 5 items. And at the end, 3 conclusions.

▪️American negotiators are trying to create a package of proposals that would meet Ukraine’s and Russia’s postwar needs and put them in a better position. Trump considers an end to Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries a condition for the American peace initiative.

▪️An American representative said that if Zelensky agrees to stop strikes on oil refineries, then “we sit down and go to Moscow.”

▪️The main message the Americans want to convey to Putin is: “Don’t just end the war with Ukraine, but make an economic deal and a security deal with Europe that will restore stability in the region after the spiral of escalation.”

(Yeah. Putin, who wants NATO rolled back to the 1997 borders and is ready to unleash a nuclear war for that, is now going to make a deal to restore stability in the region. He’s already running. Oof...)

▪️The peace plan consists of four blocks:

1) Ukraine’s reconstruction with the participation of the World Bank and the BlackRock fund;

2) security guarantees for Ukraine similar to NATO’s Article 5; a broader Europe-Russia security treaty;

3) economic integration of Ukraine, Europe, and Russia through energy deals; supplies of Russian gas to Europe, with Ukraine and Russia sharing the profits; Russia receives long-term access to European energy markets; discussion of lifting sanctions on Russia;

4) a ceasefire along the current front line.

▪️Behind the diesel deal is solely Trump’s political attempt to lower fuel prices before the Congressional elections.

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Bottom line:

1. The blessed souls in the White House sincerely believe that Putin is interested in the well-being and prosperity of his country, as well as security in Europe. They understand neither why he launched the war against Ukraine nor what his goals are.

2. The blessed souls in the White House sincerely believe that Putin can be appeased with money, and that if strikes on oil refineries are stopped unilaterally, it will make him more accommodating.

3. The diesel deal with Russia has no far-reaching consequences; it is simply Trump’s attempt to lower fuel prices before the elections, and the blessed souls in the White House think this will help.

I have nothing to add here. Americans got what they voted for. The only painful thing is that Ukraine is suffering so much because of it.

P.S. No, actually, I’ll add something. It was exactly the same in 2018, when Trump tried to make a deal with North Korea and economically appease Kim. It produced jack shit. You and I warned about this back in 2024. Only with North Korea there was no hot war, so it did not feel so painful. But failing to learn this lesson is a colossal historical mistake by American voters in 2024.