NATO Update

  The US did not push for more Russian concessions regarding Ukraine at the July G20 Summit, although President Trump had a "firm" meeting with his Russian counterpart.  The Wall Street Journal reported on February 2, 2017, that "NATO Scraps Ukraine Security Meeting." Although Russia and Russian-backed separatists are escalating violence from Donbass, Ukraine, President Trump had suggested dropping sanctions on Russia as recently as a few months ago, while Europe (from the NATO alliance) cancelled talks with Ukraine about including it under a missile-defense system.

Shelling in 2017 has killed a dozen Ukrainian Soldiers, wounding many more and damaging water, electricity and heating for 17,000 people in Avdiivka.  Europe is reluctant to help in spite of "The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine" report that fighting is severe as any that it has observed in Donetsk, Ukraine (WSJ, p.A8). 

Secretary of Defense Mattis continues his supportive words for NATO.  Secretary of State Tillerson is on record strongly supported the Minsk Accords, the formal ceasefire in Ukraine to which Russia nominally agreed (picture below of Ukraine Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin with Secretary Tillerson some weeks after the comment about the Minsk Accords).  When Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko visited Washington DC recently, an informal meeting came together with President Trump himself.

In Syria, Russia is meeting its goals to keep Assad/naval ports in place, while in Ukraine, casualties continue to mount... we trust the Trump administration will continue to push for progress in Ukraine.