In Gaza, and now Ukraine, Donald Trump may be peace activists’ greatest ally. That deserves our backing | Simon Jenkins

DDonald Trump is sensible and he is right. Enjoying the glory after his ceasefire in Gaza, he flew to Florida on Friday evening with his entourage of journalists. The drums of war echoed across Europe and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, pleaded for Tomahawk missiles. What was his response?

Trump was clearly fed up. He told Zelensky: go make a deal. He said: “They should stop the war immediately. You go along the battle line wherever it is…and both sides need to go home. Go to their families, stop the killing and that should be it.” Case closed. The Tomahawks would just mean escalation and more killings. Get a deal.

Given that just last month Trump suggested that Ukraine could reclaim all of its territory occupied by Russia, his whims must be taken into account. Everything can mean nothing. But modern diplomacy is rarely about ideology or consistency. It’s a question of ego and spectacle. It means seizing every moment that presents itself and seeing what happens.

Trump clearly seized the right moment to get Benjamin Netanyahu to stop killing Palestinians. In doing so, he opened a door to peace that had been closed. Even those suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome had to approve. The motive is not the problem if the result is good.

Western management of Ukraine has lost its way in the dusty corridors of NATO, the EU and the UN. Their leaders have long since stepped aside, wishing Zelensky good luck. They give him enough help to continue fighting but without winning. They feel good about telling the world how horrible Vladimir Putin is and telling Zelensky to hold on.

The hawks will now respond that a ceasefire along the existing front line will not “solve” anything. It will simply repeat the 2015 ceasefire and concede more territory to Russia. This would reward an outrage against international law and would leave behind thousands of Ukrainians who died for their country, not to mention the millions of Westerners who have paid dearly for their energy bills. A broken Ukraine is more honorable than a dishonorable peace. What was wrong, anyway, with a few Tomahawks raining down on Moscow?

Gaza and Ukraine were territorial conflicts that the West could theoretically have stayed away from. History will judge whether the nature and level of participation truly served the cause of a resolution or lasting peace. In the case of Ukraine, the United States and NATO have at least reacted realistically and cautiously. Joe Biden has set firm limits on military assistance to minimize the risk of escalation. Trump wisely stuck to that line.

He now says he wants to put an end to the conflict. We assume that during his conversation with Putin last week, he agreed not to give Tomahawks to Zelensky. We wait to see what Putin will accept in return, presumably so Trump can throw another Gaza glory fest. If that’s the price to pay to end this war, it would be cheap. But Putin is not Netanyahu and Trump has no influence over him. He’s taking a risk.

America’s record in solving the world’s woes has been dismal over the past three decades. Trump has long opposed overseas entanglements and protests that it’s not America’s job. He is reluctant to send troops into harm’s way and never claims the United States has a divine mission to save the world for freedom. But if he wants new global acclaim, he will have to hold Putin to the fire. The fact that it will be difficult is not an argument against trying.

The new realism dictates that in situations like these, we do not perform ceremony or utter abstract names. We treat the world as it is, not as we wish it to be. Trump must now fashion a security guarantee along the current Ukraine-Russia front line that can satisfy both Putin and Zelensky. He must do the same in Gaza to satisfy Israel and Palestine. Since he refuses to commit American troops to any of these endeavors, his powers of persuasion will have to be superhuman if he is to guarantee his reputation.

Trump has gotten this far without using the diplomatic apparatus of his NATO or other allies. He is right that the allies have so far failed to deliver on their promises. He operated through a ramshackle group of courtiers eager to carry out his orders and with nothing to lose. Until now, their only virtue has been to progress.

Trump’s clear intention is to end two bitter wars through his personal charisma. He counts on his impact on other equally selfish leaders who stand in his way. Ukraine is in an impasse. Trump is simply pleading for an end to the fighting, an end to the killings and the return of soldiers to their homes and families. You could call it vanity and selfishness, but so what? This is a call for peace from the world’s most powerful leader. We should wish Trump well in his efforts and congratulate him if he succeeds.