Ending Russia-Ukraine war to focus on China: Time will tell

Even before taking office, President Trump was clear that the Russia-Ukraine war needed to end. Too much killing, too much of a distraction, and America is unable to focus on other things, such as China.

Wars are easier to start than to end, and negotiations are tough.

Even more so when the media, pundits and opponents are primed to jump on any apparent missteps.

The hair-on-fire reactions to normal difficulties in complex negotiations from a new team getting up to speed and the obligatory claims from some quarters that Mr. Trump is selling out to Russian President Vladimir Putin are overwrought.

It’s a bit like airplane passengers screaming and pounding on the cockpit door every time a plane hits a little turbulence on a long flight. Sometimes, it’s best to tighten your seat belt and go back to watching the movie. It’s the landing that matters.

Mr. Trump is the “man in the ring” trying to clean up the god-awful mess in Ukraine that started under President Obama and got much worse with President Biden in the White House.

More than 1 million people on both sides have been killed or wounded.

Mr. Trump’s enemies presumably are glad to have another million (as long as it’s not them).Let’s see what Mr. Trump can do.

Trump’s negotiation track record

Mr. Trump’s track record from his first term is mixed.

The Abraham Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain (for starters) were stunning accomplishments. Also notable were the wars that didn’t happen, including a Russian invasion of Ukraine or an Oct. 7-style attack in Israel.

On the other hand, Mr. Trump had Chinese electronics companies ZTE and Huawei on the ropes and Beijing squirming. Instead, the administration cut deals that let them wriggle free.The negotiations with the Taliban over Afghanistan? Putting Zalmay Khalilzad in charge pretty much guaranteed things would not go well, sort of like appointing Gen. Mark Milley as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. However, that was a different administration, and Mr. Trump was being undermined on every front.

So we’ll wait and see about Ukraine.

If a deal is cut, it must be enforced — something America seldom does.

What about Xi Jinping?

Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping is no doubt watching closely.

One worries that, given what’s happened in Ukraine to date, he sees no reason to think he couldn’t get away with taking Taiwan.

If Mr. Putin looks like he comes out ahead after a deal is reached, Mr. Xi may see a bright green light — for Taiwan, of course, but also for the Philippines, Japan, Australia and elsewhere.

Ideally, the Russia-Ukraine war will end with the appearance that Mr. Putin lost as clearly as the U.S. did upon withdrawal from Afghanistan.

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