In Sergio Leone’s epic spaghetti western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Blondie, played by Clint Eastwood, and Tuco, played by Eli Wallach, are rival hunters for stolen Confederate gold. The treasure, they discover, is buried in a huge Civil War cemetery. Unfortunately, they have no idea exactly where. Having earlier taken the precaution of emptying Tuco’s revolver, Blondie turns to him and utters the immortal lines: ‘You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend. Those with loaded guns. And those who dig. You dig.’
This week has seen good, bad and ugly moments in geopolitics. And it’s ended with Donald Trump playing Blondie and Volodymyr Zelensky as Tuco. Trump has the weapons, so Zelensky has to dig.
Zelensky has had to accept that the mineral wealth under Ukrainian soil is open to American investment. The resistance he put up to Trump in the Oval Office last Friday on the issue of security guarantees collapsed into conciliation on Tuesday. In a letter to the President, Zelensky praised Trump’s ‘strong leadership’ and signalled Kyiv’s willingness to get out the shovels and start digging.
‘I appreciate that he sent this letter,’ said Trump that evening in his fifth address to Congress. ‘Simultaneously, we’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldn’t that be beautiful? It’s time to stop this madness.’
What’s going on here? Zelensky has to hope that by giving the US a controlling economic interest in new mineral and petroleum projects, he can win security promises and further economic assistance from Washington. Ukraine needs American weapons to defend itself against Russia because Europe is not able to take full responsibility for aiding the country.
Magazine articles are subscriber-only. Keep reading for just £1 a month
SUBSCRIBE TODAY- Free delivery of the magazine
- Unlimited website and app access
- Subscriber-only newsletters
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in