The following is an editorial by Armstrong Williams.

As the war in Ukraine continues to rage, so do debates about how to end it.

Continued fighting is obviously not the answer. Despite more than a million casualties and counting, victory for either side on the battlefield is unlikely.

The foreign aid upon which Ukraine depends to supply its military has been sufficient to defend the bulk of its territory and inflict massive casualties on Russian invaders, but insufficient to meaningfully push them back in most areas.

Russia, for its part, lacks the munitions and soldiers to take and hold more swaths of Ukrainian land, instead resorting to a campaign of drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian cities designed to degrade citizens’ will to continue fighting.

Diplomacy, then, is the only realistic solution. And because Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy were unlikely to meet in the foreseeable future, President Donald Trump has seized with gusto the grand opportunity to assume the role of peacemaker.

Trump has recently met separately with both Putin and Zelenskyy, and hosted leaders of five European countries, NATO, and the European Commission alongside Zelenskyy to discuss a potential peace deal. And while the two sides remain far apart, these meetings are the most significant diplomatic peace effort since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

It’s no secret that Trump wants the Nobel Peace Prize. He claims to have ended seven wars, between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Thailand and Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, India and Pakistan, Iran and Israel, Serbia and Kosovo, and Egypt and Ethiopia. His true impact on those conflicts could be debated, but he has undeniably made international conflict resolution a key feature of his second administration and deserves ample credit for doing so.

Ending the Russia-Ukraine War, however, is Trump’s white whale; achieving peace there would be an accomplishment that no one could deny. Even his bitter political rival Hillary Clinton said that she would personally nominate him for the Nobel if he could end the war between Ukraine and Russia.

Trump’s detractors dismissed him from start, still consumed by debunked conspiracy theories including collusion between his campaign and Russia in 2016 and the outlandish Steele Dossier, a political document containing wild and unfounded speculation about Trump’s relationship to Russia and Putin.

Yet references to such ridiculous matters have dwindled as Trump – despite vacillations and unenforced deadlines – has refused to capitulate to Putin or to stop supporting Ukraine. American weaponry continues to flow to Ukraine via European partners, and Trump even defended Ukraine’s incursions into Russian territory in a recent Truth Social post.

Nevertheless, Trump continues to prioritize his personal relationship with Putin in a way that makes even some of his supporters uneasy. It’s worth asking why the leader of the free world cares so much about his relationship with the world’s most prominent dictator, but the answer is ultimately simple.

Trump seems to admire Putin, the power he holds, and the way he wields it.

The American political system of checks and balances is a seemingly endless source of frustration for Trump. He has coalitions to keep aligned, rivals to attack, wavering MAGA faithful to pacify, courts to navigate, and the ticking clock of the electoral calendar to manage. None of these are obstacles for Putin in Russia’s absolutist system.

Trump is term-limited, while Putin rules indefinitely, and has enriched himself massively in the process. Trump’s agenda is constrained by infighting, political opposition and partisan rancor, as well as judges that throw wrenches in his ambition plans and bold policy pronouncements.

Meanwhile, Putin can implement his agenda with a phone call or a stroke of the pen. Trump respects strength, and Putin is nothing if not strong – at least within his own borders.

Those concerned that Trump’s desire for Putin-esque power will overwhelm America’s own democratic institutions are decrying his efforts to engage with the Russian president, but ironically it is his drive to work with Putin that has proven vital to this ongoing peace process.

Personal chemistry matters in negotiations; Putin himself confirmed that he would not have invaded Ukraine had Trump been president. Former President Joe Biden calling Putin a “murderous dictator” didn’t help Ukraine, but Trump calling Putin a “nice gentleman” just might.

We should all cheer on Trump in his endeavors to end the war, which has already stretched on for three and a half grueling and bloody years. Our Dealmaker-In-Chief has his sights set on a deal that would change the world, define his legacy, and almost certainly both warrant and perhaps earn him the Nobel Peace Prize he covets.

Whether you love Trump or hate him, ending this war should be an outcome that everyone can get behind.

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Mr. Williams is Manager/Sole Owner of Howard Stirk Holdings I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Broadcast Owner of the year.

www.armstrongwilliams.com | www.howardstirkholdings.com

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Editor's Note: Sinclair Broadcast Group has a business relationship with Armstrong Williams, who is a political commentator and the owner of Howard Stirk Holdings.