Hit Putin in pocket to win a fair deal
“THERE’S no deal until there’s a deal.”
Donald Trump’s words after his Alaska summit with unyielding Vladimir Putin show the ball is back in Europe’s court.
The US President is to be commended for his efforts to stop the killing by bringing Russia’s brutal leader to the negotiating table. But any path to peace must now involve President Zelensky .
And European leaders must be ready to play a much greater role in Ukraine’s defence.
Despite the lack of a deal on Friday Mr Trump clearly thinks there is a chance of a settlement in future discussions between the US, Putin and Zelensky himself, who flies to Washington tomorrow.
But three-and-a-half years after his barbarous invasion of Ukraine, which has cost more than a million lives, Putin has given away nothing.
The international pariah gained the kudos of a return to the world stage.
But he would not agree to even a temporary ceasefire and has bought himself more time to bomb innocent Ukrainians while expanding his front line.
Putin seems to think he can make demands with impunity.
President Trump must pile pressure on the creaking Russian economy with more sanctions immediately.
The dictator who started this war must be in no doubt that a no deal would be a disaster for him.
Any settlement must guarantee Ukraine’s independence and security.
It must not gift Putin an open door for a fresh assault on Kyiv .
At the same time any chance of ending this ruinous conflict must be taken seriously.
Since February 2022 Europe and America have ploughed £300 billion into Ukraine’s defence.
If the chance for a peace deal fails the alternative will be billions more spent and many more lives lost.
Free speech in peril
NOBODY is arguing against tough laws to protect young people from vile online material.
Images of self-harm or misogynistic porn are appalling.
But Labour’s attacks on Nigel Farage for attacking its flawed internet safety laws miss the point.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle today repeats accusations that the Reform Party leader is putting women and girls at risk by pledging to scrap the Online Safety Act.
Mr Farage has every right to savage the Act for its threat to freedom of expression.
Its vaguely worded ban on “legal but harmful” content has already led to one social media site censoring footage of anti-immigration protests.
The spirit of the new Act may be admirable. But its unintended consequences could be catastrophic for free speech.
