The American and Russian delegations that just met in Istanbul had made it clear that they were there to discuss the normalization of their diplomatic missions’ work, not the war in Ukraine. But such engagement is a clear corollary to U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to negotiate an end to the war. The problem is that, with the exception of Trump, who dreams of winning a Nobel Peace Prize, no party with a stake in the war — not Russia, not Ukraine, and not the European Union — wants to end

Unlike during his first term in the White House, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump appears determined to keep many of his campaign promises. His cabinet nominations — from the Kremlin-friendly Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence to the conspiracy-loving vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as Secretary of Health and Human Services — confirm Trump’s commitment to a scorched-earth campaign against American institutions and perceived “enemies within.” And his victory speech sugges