A weasel in the woodpile?

"Is this a failure on Trump's part? Not a bit. Trump can only negotiate with normal people who want a deal. Dealing with these guys from Russia, might be a bridge too far. Why? They have no interest in a deal - only more bloodshed." 

Wait - what just happened after Alaska? How did the world go from popping champaign corks to ending up with the same old Putin once again? He has sent his lapdog Lavrov out to really muddy up the water. All of a sudden, this one-on-one between Zelenskyy and Putin, followed up with a "triad" with Trump - might be a no-go. Why? It seems that Russia is still falling back on the old lie that this war was only to "protect the people of Ukraine." Get them under some kind of Russian protection - even if it means killing them. Huh?

According to the new (or maybe old) Russian spiel, "Russia had no interest in obtaining territory". They are fine with Ukraine staying intact, so long as Russia could get rid of the corrupt government in Ukraine and replace it with a Russia loving puppet (my add). If that is still the case, and that is where the lines are drawn for the furtherance of negotiation, this thing has about as much chance as a Polar Bear in the Amazon.

So, what happened then, since Alaska? Is this good cop/bad cop with Lavrov being the bad cop? Or are Lavrov and Putin using the same songbook. That we got played (again) by this nasty Russian up in Alaska. This will not sit well with NATO nor President Trump. What does Putin want to do? Keep the killing going? The brick-by-brick destruction of Kyiv? Or does this go deeper. It is no secret that Putin has NEVER accepted the dismantling of the old Soviet Union. He has been itching for a fight with the west ever since. Is that what Putin wants? To push NATO into getting involved. Make this a Euro wide (or maybe a global) war? 

In the world of bad guys, they don't get much badder than Putin, Lavrov and Medvedev of Russia. They would torch the world if they thought they had even a slim chance of winning a nuclear war. But therein lies the rub. Because they have been drinking their own bathwater so long, they are delusional about war and peace. To them, peace is for the weak, and war is for the victors. Do they care that this war has killed about a million Russians? Not a wit. Their deaths are all a part of the greater good.

We will soon find out if this latest roadblock is a deal killer, or just another Russian dance to stall for time. I have followed the Russians since the 1970's. I had a tee-shirt made up in the 1980's which said, "Never trust a Russian." I wish I still had it.

Is this a failure on Trump's part? Not a bit. Trump can only negotiate with normal people who want a deal. Dealing with these guys from Russia, might be a bridge too far. Why? They have no interest in a deal - only more bloodshed.