larry johnson speaks about the theater of 'peace summits' now being performed in ring number one;

When it comes to using diplomacy and negotiations to end a war, it is essential that both parties to the conflict communicate directly… Using intermediaries is usually a recipe for failure. Remember Trump’s Sharm el-Shiekh Peace Summit? The Sharm el-Sheikh spectacle (also called the Gaza Peace Summit or International Peace Summit) was co-chaired by President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. It gathered representatives from around 30 countries to endorse and celebrate what the media and Trump described as a US-brokered ceasefire agreement ending the Gaza war. However, neither Israeli nor Palestinian officials attended and, instead of bringing an end to the murder of Palestinians, the agreement just slowed down the pace of killing. The deal did result in the release of hostages held by Hamas and Israel, but it did not secure a viable path forward for a Palestinian state.

Now Trump is trying to perform this legerdemain on the Russians and the Ukrainians. But instead of getting the two foes together in the same room to hammer out a deal, the Trump team are engaged in a bizarre form of shuttle diplomacy. Yves Smith, founder of Naked Capitalism, astutely and accurately describes Trump’s effort to get a deal with Russia and Ukraine, by sending his envoys to meet with Ukraine’s Zelensky and his European backers with no Russians present, as delusional, self-referential exercises that ignore Russia’s battlefield dominance and maximalist positions..............more............