Has Trump really ended 'seven wars' in 'seven months'?

Spring saw yet another escalation between India and Pakistan, neighbouring countries that have been armed against each other for something like 80 years. May saw yet another truce, for which Trump claims to have been decisive. Pakistan, in fact, joined those who proposed "The Donald" for the Nobel Prize, but India claims that the two states arrived at the truce on their own, without American mediation. In short: between the two disputants there is no agreement on the deal either.

Last August, at the White House, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a preliminary peace agreement on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, this time the result of Trump's direct mediation. In the agreement there is also the plan to create a major transit corridor in the region, which will be called the 'Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity'. Whether the agreement will hold up over time remains to be seen.

Trump also credits his diplomatic successes of the past seven months with stopping a new escalation between Serbia and Kosovo, thanks to the threat of trade retaliation. Yet there is no evidence of an imminent conflict between the two states and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić himself, while not recognising Kosovo, denies having any war aims.

The seventh scenario on which Trump claims a mediating role is the dispute that has arisen between Ethiopia and Egypt over the maxi-diga on the Blue Nile. The affair has undoubtedly exacerbated relations between the two African states, which, for the time being, have reached no agreement. With Trump or without. But there has never even been a real war there.

To sum up, of the seven wars that Trump is said to have resolved, two do not exist (Kosovo and Nile), in two others the real contribution of the Americans to the peace talks is doubtful (Israel-Iran and India-Pakistan) and in the remaining three the US contribution has been there but the effect of the agreements will have to be verified over time. As for the use of the number seven, as we have seen, it is more of a rhetorical device and should not be taken literally.

Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine and the campaign of devastation being waged by Israel against the Palestinian population in response to the Hamas terrorist action of 7 October 2023 remain unresolved. On the former Trump had promised on the campaign trail that, by virtue of his excellent relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he would achieve an end to hostilities in 24 hours. Almost a year after his election, after the red carpet was rolled out under Putin's feet in Anchorage, 'The Donald' tells the UN that the war 'will still be very long'. And in the meantime Russian jets and drones flutter ghoulishly over the countries on the eastern flank of the Nato, a red line that doesn't seem to have been crossed very often before. Evidently Trump overestimated his relationship with Putin. In contrast, the White House tenant could be far more persuasive with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist government. But we have said it again and again: Trump always speaks to his electorate. Whether it is domestic policy or foreign policy.