Russia wants to demonstrate superiority and strength, despite not winning the war
The lack of understanding in the third round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine shows that the war is far from over, contrary to what Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdogan hoped. Currently, the only positive point is another prisoner of war exchange.
This time, it took less than an hour to demonstrate that an agreement is unlikely to be reached regarding control of eastern Ukraine, the sovereignty of Crimea, and whether or not Ukraine can join NATO and the European Union. Russia's position regarding Europe must also be discussed to avoid new conflicts in the future.
Given the lack of dialogue, it is natural that a ceasefire is not being considered, which would obviously serve to initiate a path forward on the most important issues. Ukraine continues to show a willingness to end attacks on Russian territory in order to gain Donald Trump's trust, while Moscow assumes a position of strength that will be detrimental in the future.
A meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky is also out of the question. However, the Ukrainian leader remains open to holding the only meeting that would end the war. The Russian president understands that he doesn't need to make concessions because he is in a more favorable position, despite never having conquered Kyiv.
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From where I sit, Mueller's testimony changes nothing. As matters stand now, each side claims victory on the merits. The only "contradiction" from the Mueller report is its holding back from announcing that Trump did obstruct justice and would have been indicted for it were he not a sitting President. This was imposed upon Mueller by Trump's minion, Attorney General Barr.
Trump personally welcomed and invited Russian interference in the election, and was glad of it. Then he lied about it and instructed people to lie about it for him.
Q: Trump and his campaign welcomed & encouraged Russian interference?
A: Yes.
Q: And then Trump and his campaign lied about it to cover it up?
A: Yes.
I don't see much of a contradiction there. It contradicts Trump's insistence that there was "no collusion," but "collusion" isn't the standard. Soliciting or accepting something of value from a non-U.S. source is the standard.
More important is the efforts of Trump and his minions to cover up the truth, both before and after Trump took office. Firing James Comey was only the most glaring of the many incidents of Trump's direction and control of efforts to prevent and obstruct investigation.
Nevertheless, impeachment was always unlikely to happen, as Pelosi has made it clear that she prefers to see Trump defeated at the ballot box in the 2020 elections. Perhaps she is right -- those who like Trump ignore the evidence that Trump has broken the law and enjoy that he defies expectations for mature behavior from the President; meanwhile, those who dislike Trump do not need to hear the evidence again. Both groups are relatively small compared to the voting population as a whole, which does not follow politics with any real care or attention and tend to vote for their own party regardless of who the candidate is.
Will Trump be re-elected in 2020? That remains to be see. The election is still fifteen months away, and much can happen between then and now. The opening of a war with Iran would be immensely unpopular; the U.S. has been at war since 2001 and is weary of it. The economy has been expanding non-stop since 2009 and it is in the nature of economics that expansions cycle inevitably with recessions. Democrats have reason to hope that Trump will simply lose in 2020. They also have reason to fear that Trump will win, simply because being the incumbent gives him many advantages and he seems to have a core of support based strictly on his cult of personality.
Right now it appears the outcome of the election will come down to five states: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. What will make the difference there is a combination of the on-the-ground competency of both parties in the areas of registration and turnout; whether economic trends are improving or declining in late October and early November 2020; and whatever new issues face the U.S. a year from now.
The end result is: it's far too early to tell, and based on what we can know right now, it's too close to call.
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