Brian Crombie Radio Hour - Epi 1444 - Trump and Putin's Alaska Summit with Roman Sheremeta

Tonight on The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian interviews Ukrainian Econimist Roman Sheremeta about Trump and Putin's Alaska Summit. Roman Sheremeta, Ph.D., is a chair of Ukrainian-American House, a founding rector of American University Kyiv, and a professor of economics at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Purdue University and is a recipient of many research and teaching awards, including the 2018 Smith Ascending Scholar Prize for a "budding genius" in social science.Roman discusses the summit between Putin and Trump, expressing strong criticism. He argues that the meeting was a diplomatic failure as it resulted in no ceasefire, no sanctions, and no concrete agreements. Roman accuses Trump of being naive and easily flattered by Putin, who he said had strategically prepared for the meeting. He also points out that Trump's trade relations with Russia seemed illogical given the ongoing sanctions. Roman covers Russia's strategic escalation of aggression, starting with actions in Chechnya, Georgia, and Moldova, and how weak Western responses, including Obama's lackluster reaction to Crimea's annexation, emboldened Russia to invade Ukraine in 2022. They address the Russian narrative about NATO expansion as a pretext for the invasion, which Roman dismissed as false, noting that Finland's NATO membership has not led to conflict and that Ukrainians historically did not want to join NATO but shifted to 90% support after Russia's full-scale invasion. Roman spoke about the prospects for peace in Ukraine. He suggests that a reasonable solution would be to freeze the current front lines, with Ukraine not recognizing the captured territories as Russian but agreeing not to use military force to recapture them. Roman emphasized that Ukraine would never accept giving up territories like the Eastern Donbas or Zaporizhia to Russia, as it would abandon Ukrainian citizens to Russian control and create new vulnerabilities. He argues that any peace deal must include strong security guarantees for Ukraine, such as NATO membership or significant military support, to deter future Russian aggression. Roman compared the situation to the Munich Agreement, warning that without robust security guarantees, Ukraine could face a similar fate.