In this "ask ian," Ian Bremmer analyzes Trump’s recent meeting with Zelensky and how close (or far) Russia and Ukraine are from a peace deal.
Ian notes that Trump’s messaging closely echoed Moscow’s, pointing out that Trump even suggested Putin was “very interested in a strong Ukraine,” a claim Ian says “certainly does not appear to be the case.”
The optics mattered too: Zelensky arrived without a red carpet or senior US officials, reinforcing Trump’s view that “Ukraine is not an ally. Zelensky is a supplicant.”
Meanwhile, Putin sees little reason to compromise as Russia continues to gain territory and divisions within NATO deepen. The result, Ian warns, is more fighting ahead and a transatlantic alliance that looks increasingly unreliable.
More For You
Most Popular
Before turning to Top Risks 2026, Ian Bremmer looks back at how this year’s Top Risks 2025 actually performed.
In the latest twist to Yemen’s decade-long civil war, a group of government ministers declared support for the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), a rebel group that broke the war’s deadlock earlier this month by seizing control of the oil-rich Handramout region.