Trump's summit with Putin is dismantling the established international order and post-WWII institutions that historically maintained global stability.

“he's dismantling all the organizations set up since the Second World War that kept peace. He's dismantling all those international laws, all the norms, the international criminal court, the international court of justice, the trade agreements, NATO, the UN.”

The negotiations involving Trump and Wickoff are performative and not genuine peace efforts.

“One of the people I met who's not in government, but somebody quite close to government and said, you know, it's just it's just infuriating to see this Wickoff guy and Trump announcing we're close to a deal. The negotiations are ongoing. She said they're not real negotiations. They're completely fak”

Effective diplomacy requires the ability to speak for domestic audiences while simultaneously advancing international goals, a skill that Trump's envoys do not possess.

“And one of the things that's really interesting about diplomacy, as you remember, is that diplomats have to speak both for consumption at home and for moving the ball forward in international affairs. And that's a really tricky thing to do.”

Diplomacy requires thorough preparation and strength rather than empty photo opportunities and groveling to foreign dictators.

“Well, you don't show up if it's going to go down like that. And you spend months, sometimes years, preparing for that meeting to ensure what happened between Trump and Xi doesn't go down.”

Private capital networks and business interests are inappropriately replacing traditional diplomacy in the current U.S. foreign policy toward Russia and Ukraine.

“It feels as if, and I don't know if this is Trump or more specifically the cloud cover for this being the idolatry or the increasing idolatry of the dollar in the United States, but it feels as if diplomacy itself is being replaced by private capital networks, sovereign funds, energy deals”

Robert Malley maintains that it is essential for diplomats to engage with all parties in a conflict, including those classified as terrorist organizations, to effectively resolve disputes.

“How do you resolve a conflict if you don't talk to the parties who are in conflict? That sort of seems elementary, but it's a fact that they once you classify some an organization as a terrorist organization, you can't talk to them or if you could talk to them, strict limits.”

Diplomacy is the essential starting point for addressing international relations, war, and human rights, as it allows for sensible and mutually respectful interaction between sovereign states.

“whenever we talk about human international relations I think we should never forget diplomacy. We should start with diplomacy actually.”

The Trump administration should have understood Russia's long-standing demands for a neutral, disarmed Ukraine before taking office to navigate diplomacy more effectively.

“So why didn't Trump and company understand exactly what those demands were and work around that starting on January 20th? I don't know what the answer is, but they didn't.”

The concept and practice of diplomacy have deteriorated to the point where even European nations prefer to perpetuate conflict rather than engage in direct communication with Russia.

“it's very strange to see how the concept and role of diplomacy itself has withered away and almost a contempt for it that it can't legitimize.”

A direct, person-to-person relationship exists between Biden and Xi that enables productive communication despite a lack of trust.

“Xi Jinping, he may not trust him, but he does respect him. They actually do have a person-to-person relationship that matters.”