Rama Krishna Sangem
US President Donald Trump is aspiring to be the father of three big ceasefires in the present strife torn world – One, between Israel and Hamas, Two, Russia and Ukraine and Three, India and Pakistan. He and his followers are not happy by the fact that most people particularly the Indian government is not acknowledging his peacemaker role. Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are working overtime to realizse Trump’s goal.
CNN’s news on May 12, Monday almost deplored that India is not giving credit to Trump for his efforts to bring in a ceasefire between the two ‘nuclear countries’ in South Asia. Of course, the American and the European media never miss an opportunity to underscore that Pakistan is a nuclear weapon state, a sort of threatening the world, particularly India.
With Hamas announcing on May 12 that they would release Eden Alexander, the US hostage, the possibility of peace between them and Israel has brightened. In fact, Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire in November 2024 when Trump just got elected as the US president. However, that ceasefire was frequently violated by both the sides since then.
But, now, Trump wants to ensure a permanent or long lasting peace between the two West Asian countries. His plans for a neutral Gaza have shocked both Israel and Hamas, but none opened mouth against it. Same is the case with Ukraine. Trump almost threatened Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end the war with Russia and come to an agreement at the earliest.
30 day ceasefire
The 30-day ceasefire proposal isn’t exactly hot off the press – the US floated it back in March – but over the last few days, it has been given a fresh lease of life. European leaders including the UK’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz and Poland’s Donald Tusk had one message for Russia: agree to an unconditionaltruce, to be implemented from Monday, or face “new and massive” sanctions, Tinshui Yeung, BBC live page editor said on the British broadcaster on May 11.
Putin’s response? He held a late-night news conference, where he avoided giving a clear response, offering instead his own counter-proposal: direct talks with Ukraine in Turkey next Thursday. Ukraine’s reply was clear: ceasefire first, talks later.
All eyes are now on tomorrow to see whether Russia and Ukraine will actually pause the fighting. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he’s off to Turkey around the time of Putin’s proposed meeting, joining an informal gathering of Nato foreign ministers. On the agenda: ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
What will happen to the war after all this? After three years of relentless fighting, it’s tempting to believe nothing will change and the fighting just drags on. But there’s also a chance we’re on the brink of something big. Donald Trump certainly thinks so, posting on Truth Social: “A BIG week upcoming!”
