Peeling the Russian Onion

The reason Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t want his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky at his talks with US President Donald Trump is simple: to make such talks tripartite would be to acknowledge Ukraine, a country whose independent existence is anathema to the revanchist in Moscow. The mystery is why Putin agreed to Alaska as the venue, which too, in his sanguinary lament for empire, stands for what Russia lost. Kyiv, meanwhile, cannot accept the territorial swaps the Trump administration has in mind. So any deal would be a non-starter. Putin wants it all: annexation of territory his military controls, Kyiv’s neutrality outside NATO, lifting of sanctions, etc. Again, any deal would be a non-starter. Trump’s attempt to “feel-out” Putin (again), or peel his Matryoshka dolls, about a week after the expiry of his truncated ultimatum, is unlikely to lead to a ceasefire anytime soon, unless Trump understands exactly how his predecessors George W Bush and Barack Obama had read Putin wrong, in their different ways. Despite recent disappointments, Trump sees something of himself in Putin. That fatal attraction deluded him into thinking he could end the war in a day. It’s still pulling him in.

Hopeless in Gaza

Either Benjamin Netanyahu is still the clear-sighted genius he once was or he is a blind man leading a half-willing country astray. Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City, in theory, might be the only solution to disarm and destroy Hamas, demilitarise the Strip, bring back all hostages, and ensure neither Islamist Hamas nor the corrupt Palestinian Authority gets to run the place again. In practice, the first step is the expansion of the conflict which has been loudly condemned from all sides of the international political spectrum and even Germany has decided to halt its military exports to Israel—Germany which cannot, given its own history, be seen to be critical of the Jewish state. As the IDF takes over Gaza City with an intense aerial bombardment, the backdrop is a famine unfolding in devastating proportions. Netanyahu’s protracted military action in this hell on earth has cost Israel a lot diplomatically, goodwill the country whose birth was an attempt to undo history’s biggest crime may find hard to recover in full. On the other hand, Israel has never been this divided. Even military officials have opposed the takeover plan. Bibi won’t be forgiven if Hamas laughs from the grave.

The Lost Star

When she won the 1990 French Open at 16, no one thought her career would practically be over in 1993. Monica Seles has belonged to three countries, one of which doesn’t exist anymore, and won nine Grand Slams and 53 career titles. The 51-year-old who had broken Steffi Graf’s reign as a teenager, never fully recovered after being stabbed on court in April 1993 despite returning to play professional tennis till 2003. Seles has just revealed she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular autoimmune disease without a cure yet, three years ago. She is raising awareness about it before the US Open.

Alaska. NATOBenjamin NetanyahuDonald TrumpGazageopoliticsMonica SelesVladimir PutinVolodymyr Zelensky