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In the past week, President Donald Trump met with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The discussions ranged from security guarantees for Ukraine to potential future meetings between the three leaders.
Do these meetings represent real progress toward ending the war? Is Trump the right person to bring peace to Ukraine? Newsweek contributors Steve Cortes and Faisal Kutty debate:
Steve Cortes believes that President Trump will bring lasting peace, ending this conflict. He has consistently been anti-war throughout his political career, in stark contrast to Washington’s careerists. As shown by the Abraham Accords and recent truce in the Azerbaijan–Armenia conflict, he always defers to diplomacy first. Trump also recognizes that Ukrainian security questions are primarily Europe’s responsibility, not America’s. He distrusts Zelensky, who manipulated Joe Biden with maximalist demands for years. Peace beckons!
Faisal Kutty contends that Trump cannot broker a durable peace between Russia and Ukraine. He has repeatedly praised Putin, dismissed Russian war crimes, and proposed land deals rewarding aggression by freezing illegal territorial gains. His impulsive diplomacy and disregard for allies make sustainable peace unlikely. Moreover, his condescending relationship with Zelensky since the impeachment scandal undermines trust. True peace demands principled negotiation grounded in respect for sovereignty and international law. Trump offers theatrics, not diplomacy. His approach risks sacrificing Ukraine’s future for quick results and personal gain.
Cortes argues that America has no vital national security interest in this ancient conflict but works diligently to end senseless wars. Putin himself admitted the war never would have happened with Trump in office. The reckless killing must end.
Kutty counters that calling Russia’s invasion an “ancient ethnic conflict” whitewashes war crimes. Trump didn’t “inherit” this war—Putin waited until he left. Citing Putin as proof of Trump’s peacemaking isn’t diplomacy, it’s deference. Peace is not surrender or legitimizing land grabs—it’s justice and accountability.
Cortes claims that Russia’s invasion was outrageous but America is not a global cop. We have no vital national interest in the Black Sea. Zelensky is corrupt and will lose an election soon. Trump works for better relations with both Russia and Ukraine, one of peace and normalized relations with America. Blessed are the peacemakers!
Kutty argues that labeling Zelensky “corrupt” while ignoring Putin’s kleptocracy is selective outrage. Sustainable peace must be anchored in the UN Charter, the Budapest Memorandum, and inviolable sovereign borders. Trump’s approach dismisses collective security and weakens NATO. Normalizing relations with an aggressor without justice or troop withdrawal isn’t peacemaking—it’s appeasement.
Cortes emphasizes that Trump is a diplomat and peacemaker unlike his predecessors Bush, Obama, and Biden. The America First vision believes in realism and restraint. If Ukraine’s defense is existential to NATO, the burden must fall on wealthy Western Europe, not America.
Kutty argues that enabling land theft is abdication—not diplomacy. Mistaking retreat for realism is strategic myopia. Deterrence, not disengagement, preserves peace. NATO is a moral and legal commitment to collective defense and global order. Real leadership defends law, sovereignty, and justice—not appeasement.
Cortes asserts that the biggest threat to America is leftist Marxism at home, not external threats like Biden’s open borders. Trump protects American sovereignty and will play chief peacemaker using America’s diplomatic and economic prestige to achieve peace without committing troops or taxpayer funds to adventurism worldwide.
Kutty argues that Putin’s terms—forced neutrality, disarmament, and recognition of annexed territory—are ultimatums, not peace proposals. Even leading realist John Mearsheimer concedes these demands are non-negotiable but deeply unacceptable to Kyiv and its allies. Trump’s flirtation with such concessions isn’t diplomacy—it’s capitulation. His admiration for Putin and contempt for Zelensky erode U.S. credibility and fracture collective security.
The views expressed in this article are the writers’ own.
