"Zelensky raised the prospect of access to some of the country's mineral wealth last year, when he presented a "victory plan" to Western partners."
From the link in #2193 on the Ukraine thread. Also, Zelensky was shown on the news this evening saying that the mineral deal wouldn't work without US security guarantees.
But the problem with the whole 'deal' thing at the moment is that Ukraine wants all the territory back and NATO membership, and peacekeeping troops, all things Russia will not allow. The West must surely be aware of this.
Yes, the west is aware of what Putin says that he'll accept - the west is also generally aware that reality and Putin's accounts are rarely in alignment. Russia is losing money, people and stability, it's had to rely on North Korean troops and munitions to fight to a stalemate in a war it started. Twice.
The west know what Putin says he'll accept, but that should have been the start point of negotiations - instead, Trump gave him everything he asked for, undermining and undercutting all his purported allies.
'The West' knew. Trump may or may not have known the gap between Putin's bravado and the reality - it's still not entirely clear to me if Trump's genuinely that fucking stupid or that pathologically mendacious, but either way we're now where we are because Trump wants glory and cheap goods, and he'll throw anyone and everyone under any bus he can find to get it. And Putin know this, too, which is why his cyber-warfare units were deployed so aggressively to stir shit up about the Democrats and agitate against the moderate Republicans for the last ten years or so.
O.
