The past has returned (Source: here)
The specifics of the agreement between US President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have not yet been made public, but one can already see clear parallels with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939.
In August 1939, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi government, represented by Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Stalin’s Russia, represented by Vyacheslav Molotov, signed an agreement to divide Poland between them. The Baltic states, Finland as well as parts of Moldova and Ukraine were also ceded to Russia as part of the agreement.
Today, an authoritarian Russia is once again dealing directly with a fascist Western power over the fate of an Eastern European nation. The fascist Western power is Donald Trump's United States and the Eastern European nation is Ukraine. Authoritarianism has come full circle (see here).
Putin playing Trump with the help of Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (Source: here)
There are other notable parallels with 1939. Back then, key European powers, such as Britain and France – as well as Poland itself – were excluded from the talks. Today, the same is true as neither the European Union (EU) nor Ukraine were present at the talks that were held in Saudi Arabia.
As they say, if you are not at the table, you are on the menu.
Following the Saudi meeting, Trump has embarked on a public campaign to undermine Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, who he has called a dictator (which he is not). Trump has also blamed Zelensky for the Russian invasion (another lie) and said that Zelensky’s approval rating is a mere 4% (another lie since Zelensky's approval rating actually is 53%, higher than Trump’s). The latest and, so far, most galling attack took place during Zelensky’s recent visit to the White House, where the Ukrainian leader was subjected to a cowardly ambush by Trump and his acolytes.
It is impossible to escape the conclusion that Trump is trying to weaken Zelensky to effect a change of government in Ukraine.
Read this Trump tweet and tell me Trump is not a Russian tool...(Source: here)
Charateristically, Zelensky’s responses to Trump’s attacks have been dignified and consistent. He “cannot sell his country”, Zelensky says, rejecting Trump’s completely unreasonable offer to 'help' Ukraine in exchange for gaining control of half of the country's natural resources.
Still, unsurprisingly, Zelensky’s reactions are increasingly tinged with desperation. Ukraine, like Poland in 1939, is extremely vulnerable. Zelensky's last remaining ally, Europe, is weak, despite the fact that the threats posed by Trump and Putin have been obvious for a long time (see here).
President Emmanuel Macron of France hastily called two summits recently to try to define a European position on Ukraine and to find ways to deal with the United States, which is now an ally of Russia, Europe’s worst enemy. Macron then visited Trump in the US and UK Primeminister Starmer followed suit. But after Trump’s mauling of Zelensky, it is clear these efforts to influence the American president were a waste of time.
The two big questions now demand answers; is NATO dead? If so, what replaces it?
Europe has a mountain to climb in order to ahead of events. The EU’s unanimity rules make it difficult to take decisions due to the rear-guard actions of Quisling nations, such as Hungary, which take Russia’s side.
Perhaps a more realistic way forward, at least for the time being, is to form a European defence union outside the formal EU framework, but this idea is still viewed by many Europeans as an absolute last resort, meaning it may not be worth pursuing 'just' to help Ukraine.
Such thinking borders on the criminally reckless. It is deeply myopic and reveals, among other things, a failure to understand the threats facing Europe. In my view, there is no doubt Russia will continue to chip away at Europe if it is allowed to do so.
And who knows what Trump will do.
Above all, policy-makers in Europe must face the fact that, in Putin and Trump, they are up against genuine and allied fascists.
Fascists do not believe in democracy, the rule of law, nor human rights.
Trump’s proposal to strike a deal with Russia that sells Ukraine down the river is entirely consistent with fascist ideology. Fascists deliberately target the weakest and most vulnerable in order to rack up easy victories, then move on to the next-most vulnerable targets, and so on, gaining strength with each victory until finally they have total control.
Europe! Wake up! WAKE UP!
The End
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