By Michael Snyder
This is the moment when humanity will choose between peace and global war. Sadly, it appears that our window of opportunity to choose peace is rapidly closing. Negotiations with Iran have not made much progress, and the Trump administration is warning that it is ready to “walk away” from negotiations to end the war in Ukraine if the Russians and the Ukrainians do not agree to the seven-point deal that is now being proposed. We have reached one of the most critical turning points in human history, but most people in the Western world do not seem to understand the importance of the drama unfolding right before our eyes.
On Wednesday, Vice President J.D. Vance said something that should chill us to the core…
“We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say yes, or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Vance told reporters in India, where he is on a four-day visit.
Vance spoke as envoys from Washington, Kyiv and European nations gathered for talks in the U.K. amid a new U.S. push to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“It’s now time, I think, to take, if not the final step, one of the final steps, which is, at a broad level, the party saying we’re going to stop the killing, we’re going to freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today,” Vance added. “Now, of course, that means the Ukrainians and the Russians are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own.”
This ultimatum is very similar to one issued by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week.
It is evident that the Trump administration is quickly losing patience with the Russians and the Ukrainians, but U.S. officials are willing to take one last shot at a peace agreement.
According to Axios, the following are five things that Russia would gain from President Trump’s seven-point peace plan…
- “De jure” U.S. recognition of Russian control in Crimea.
- “De-facto recognition” of Russia’s occupation of nearly all of Luhansk oblast and the occupied portions of Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
- A promise that Ukraine will not become a member of NATO. The text notes that Ukraine could become part of the European Union.
- The lifting of sanctions imposed since 2014.
- Enhanced economic cooperation with the U.S., particularly in the energy and industrial sectors.
The following are four things that Ukraine would gain from President Trump’s seven-point peace plan…
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- “A robust security guarantee” involving an ad hoc group of European countries and potentially also like-minded non-European countries. The document is vague regarding how this peacekeeping operation would function and does not mention any U.S. participation.
- The return of a small part of Kharkiv Oblast, which Russia has occupied.
- Unimpeded passage of the Dnieper River, which runs along the front line in parts of southern Ukraine.
- Compensation and assistance for rebuilding, although the document does not specify the source of the funding.
The plan proposed by the Trump administration is reasonable.
I would highly encourage both sides to agree to the deal.
Sadly, it appears that the Ukrainians are already rejecting it…
Ukraine will not legally recognize Russia’s occupation of Crimea under any circumstances, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a briefing in Kyiv on April 22.
“There is nothing to talk about. This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine,” Zelensky told reporters.
The statement comes amid reports that the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory is being considered as part of a U.S.-backed proposal to end the war in Ukraine.
What in the world is he thinking?
Ukraine is losing the war.
If the war continues, Ukraine will steadily lose even more territory.
I can definitely understand why President Trump is frustrated with this individual. After learning of these comments, President Trump posted the following on his Truth Social account…
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is boasting on the front page of The Wall Street Journal that, “Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea. There’s nothing to talk about here.” This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion. Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired? The area also houses, for many years before “the Obama handover,” major Russian submarine bases. It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War. He has nothing to boast about! The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country. I have nothing to do with Russia, but have much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, who are dying for no reason whatsoever. The statement made by Zelenskyy today will do nothing but prolong the “killing field,” and nobody wants that! We are very close to a Deal, but the man with “no cards to play” should now, finally, GET IT DONE. I look forward to being able to help Ukraine, and Russia, get out of this Complete and Total MESS, that would have never started if I were President!
The Ukrainians clearly do not want to end the war.
Of course, the Russians do not exactly seem eager to accept what Trump is proposing either…
But spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday said Russia was not aware of the plan’s terms, responding to a report by The Post about early details of a proposed arrangement.
“The issue of the [Ukrainian] settlement is extremely complex, of course, so it is hardly possible to set some hard deadlines and try to rush the resolution of the conflict into a shortened timeframe,” he told Russian outlet VGTRK. “This would be an exercise in futility.”
If the Trump administration decides to “walk away” from negotiations, any chance at peace with Russia is probably dead.
So what would happen then?
Would we just let the Russians take as much of Ukraine as they want, or would we escalate matters?
Of course, if both sides choose to escalate matters, we know what will eventually happen.
Meanwhile, Russia has just entered into a “strategic partnership” with Iran…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law ratifying a strategic partnership treaty with Iran, Russian state news agency RIA reported on Monday.
The agreement is expected to strengthen military and diplomatic ties between Moscow and Tehran.
As part of the agreement, the two countries agreed not to provide military assistance to any third party with which the other is in hot conflict, according to the Kyiv Independent.
This is a very troubling development because the U.S. could be at war with Iran very soon.
President Trump has repeatedly warned that if Iran does not make a deal, there will be military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
On Wednesday, Marco Rubio said that the Iranians would be allowed to have “a civilian nuclear program.” Still, they will not be allowed to continue to enrich uranium under any circumstances…
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that US President Donald Trump is determined to prevent Iran from attaining a nuclear weapon, and would prefer to do that by negotiations as opposed to military means. However, he said the US would be willing to see Tehran have a civilian nuclear program as long as they were not enriching uranium.
“We do not want a war,” Rubio told Bari Weiss on her Honestly podcast.
“We do not want to see war. This is not a president that campaigned on starting wars. And as he said very clearly, Iran is not going to have a nuclear weapon, and he reserves every right to prevent that from happening, but he would prefer it not happen. He would prefer that there not be a need to resort to military force, either by us or anybody else. He would prefer that it’d be something that we can negotiate.”
The Iranians should take the deal that is being offered to them.
But the Iranians have already clearly stated that enriching uranium is a red line for them. There is no way that they are going to stop doing it, and so that means that war is coming.
Once the attacks on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities start, the Iranians will respond with tremendous force, and the Middle East will erupt in flames.
The Iranians have some “surprises” up their sleeves, but so do the Israelis.
If cooler heads do not prevail, we are going to see tremendous death and destruction in the Middle East.
And if we cannot find a way to achieve peace with the Russians, it is just a matter of time before a worst case scenario unfolds.
This is our last best chance at peace, and we must not blow it.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com. Cross-posted with End of the American Dreamvia Conservative Firing Line
