Trump-Putin Alaska peace talks less of a hit than Zelensky’s suit

When campaigning for the US presidency last year, Donald Trump said that if he won back the highest office in the land, he would end the war in Ukraine in one day. He’s a deal-maker and he would sort it out. No worries.

We are now eight months on since Mr Trump assumed office and the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. Bombs are still being dropped on Kyiv and other civilian towns, cities and infrastructure* by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces.

Ukrainian men, women and children are being killed daily, while at the front a brave Ukrainian army continues to punch above its weight holding off a much larger aggressor. A stalemate* is probably the best way to describe where we are now. The only way to end this war in reality is by negotiating a peace treaty, not by military might.

Another factor at play here is that President Trump desperately wants to win the Nobel Peace prize. That trophy would look so nice sitting with all those golden cups and vases on the fireplace mantelpiece behind him in the Oval Office. In a bid to win it, he wants to bring about a settlement in Ukraine.

But what is that settlement? Is it Ukraine giving up the territory an invading Russian army has taken? That’s about 20 per cent of the country. President Zelensky has said no way! That only rewards Putin’s aggression and would embolden him in future expansion moves. Does it mean Russia pulling back to its previous borders and Ukraine joining NATO as insurance against future Russian aggression? No way, says Putin, Ukraine is part of Russia!

Okay, now you see why the poor old Trumpster couldn’t solve this war with a couple of text messages!

In a bid to break the stalemate, Donald Trump invited Vladimir Putin to a face-to-face summit* in Alaska to make a peace deal. The President thought he could get it done because he has this thing with Putin. It is fairly obvious that he and Putin have this weird bromance going on. Trump seems to hold Putin in some sort of regard while the rest of the world sees him as a war criminal and just another Russian gangster and no one else would have a bar of him.

For Trump to invite him onto American soil, roll out the red carpet, then have him stand on the same stage as a sitting US president would be a huge win for Putin. But still the event went ahead, with Trump saying he could get a deal done.

Cut to the Alaskan summit. It was quite a sight to see the Russian leader being greeted like a dear old friend, as Trump clapped his hands as Putin landed. Walking together along the red carpet, then getting into the presidential limo, nicknamed The Beast, Putin was positively beaming on the ride with Trump to the summit press conference.

All the while bombs still dropped on Kyiv. When the two leaders emerged three hours later we held our breaths, anticipating a successful outcome: peace, or at least a ceasefire. The reality? We got nothing. Trump’s gamble with Putin did not come off, and he left the press conference without speaking, his tail between his legs.

The Summit begged for a cartoon. Putin, a former KGB agent*, had played Donald Trump like a fiddle yet again, and I wanted to illustrate his win over the US President once more. I love those pictures of a shirtless Putin riding a horse in the Russian wilderness. He sees himself as a great warrior – strong, Russian bear blood runs in his veins. So in a quick sketch in the margins of my cartoon, I drew a polar bear with Putin on its back. Sometimes a quick scribble can capture something that a more considered approach cannot. My Putin/polar bear sketch captured the moment: a Russian leader in full command, taming anything he comes into contact with, galloping freely across the political world on a wild beast. His power clearly on display.

In the cartoon, a gobsmacked* Trump just stands there waving goodbye. Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State stands next to him and asks the question we were all asking ourselves after witnessing this bizarre set piece that elevated an international pariah* back to world leader status: “What just happened?”

In a postscript* to this cartoon, a couple of days later, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House to get a personal briefing from Donald Trump on the outcome of the Alaskan summit.

In a clever move, Zelensky did not wear his usual khaki T-shirt and cargo pants that have symbolised his leadership during the war. Last time he visited the White House, he was berated* by the President and his Vice President for showing disrespect in dressing in such a way. Maybe he didn’t see the dress regulations sign on the door? But this time he wore a suit.

Trump applauded Zelensky’s sartorial* elegance. The press gave him compliments. There was a positive mood in the Oval Office about an outcome. I drew a tongue-in-cheek* cartoon about this huge development in the war. But when you think about it, is it possible for a costume change to a simple “suit” to influence the outcome of a three year old war and bring about peace? It’s a weird world we live in. Why not?

POLL

GLOSSARY

• infrastructure: systems and services, such as transport, roads, buildings and power supplies, that a country or organisation needs in order to work effectively
• stalemate: an argument neither side can win or gain an advantage in and no progress can be made
• gobsmacked: speechless, being so surprised you can’t speak
• pariah: someone who is strongly disliked, mistrusted and outcast from the rest of society
• postscript: something added afterwards, traditionally a short remark at the bottom of a letter once you’ve signed your name and where the abbreviation “p.s.” comes from
• berated: strongly criticised or scolded
• sartorial: relating to clothes, manner of dress, style and tailoring
• tongue-in-cheek: something intended to be understood as a joke, not serious, being cheeky

EXTRA READING

Gold leadership Logie goes to …

Unholy show as leaders lock horns

Trump’s ‘Octagon Office’ diplomacy

QUICK QUIZ

1. How long did Donald Trump predict it would take him to end the war in Ukraine?
2. Where was the summit between Trump and Putin held?
3. How many times has Putin visited a Western country since invading Ukraine?
4. What was Zelensky berated for during his previous visit to the Oval Office?
5. What is Trump’s presidential limousine called?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Read between the lines
Cartoonist Mark Knight describes the events that inspired his cartoons, and his thought process in composing his images. If we think about it, we can probably make some inferences about Mr Knight’s opinions on the three presidents – Trump, Putin and Zelensky – based on his words.

Write one sentence each for these men, that you think might clearly summarise Mr Knight’s thoughts about them.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, HASS

2. Extension
Choose one of the three presidents mentioned and write to express and explain your own opinion about them.

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, HASS

VCOP ACTIVITY
Describe it
Choose one of the cartoons and make a list of five nouns that you see. Then describe those five nouns with five adjectives. Now add a preposition to those five nouns and adjectives.

Finally, choose your favourite bundle and put all the words together to make one descriptive sentence.

(For lower reading level articles, remove “add a preposition”)