Not in the resource

Why did the meeting of Zelensky and Trump end with a scandal and can the USA and Ukraine still make peace? Novyevropa discussed with experts

The conflict during the press conference of the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump destroyed hopes not only to sign the resource agreement, but also to the quickly end of three-year Russian aggression in Ukraine. The leaders of the countries did not proceed to the constructive discussion of the ceasefire and security guarantees, the dialogue did not immediately set and ended with a verbal skirmish right in front of the journalists.

Why did it work out and for whose support to hope for Ukraine now? The New Gazeta Europe is dealing with experts.

Informality

The press conference of Zelensky and Trump in the oval office of the White House was supposed to become a formal and short event. Then the American administration and the delegation from Ukraine were supposed to go to closed negotiations and lunch, and after that - to move to the eastern room and in the presence of the press to sign a joint agreement, as well as answer questions.

Instead, the meeting of Zelensky and Trump quickly grew into a tense discussion regarding the settlement of war with Russia. In the beginning, the US President said that he considers a deal on minerals “very fair”, but noted that Ukraine “will have to compromise”. The President of Ukraine once again emphasized the need for reliable security guarantees for his country, while Trump insisted on an immediate ceasefire and negotiations without preliminary conditions.

“You are showing disrespect for our country. It is about the third world war, you have no right to play with this. <...> We gave you 350 billion dollars. You are now in a difficult situation. You do not have strong cards on your hands. We want to save your country and stop the war. You cannot say: “I do not want to stop the war,” Trump repeated emotionally. The President of Ukraine noted that "does not play cards."

Soon Trump accused Zelensky of "the game of the lives of millions of people." The US Vice-President Jay Di Wence, who began to report to the Ukrainian leader for “not showing gratitude” to the States intervened. "Have you ever said" thank you "?" - asked Vance Zelensky. “Many times,” he answered. “No, throughout this meeting. You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October ( it was meant the participation of Zelensky in the election shares of Kamaly Harris - approx. Ed. ). Say a few words of gratitude to the United States of America and the president who is trying to save your country, ”the vice president, who rarely attends such meetings, increased pressure.

The meeting, which was supposed to become insignificant, eventually stretched for almost an hour and ended in high colors.

After the press conference came to an end, the parties seemed to move on to negotiations in closed mode. But soon the US presidential advisers asked the Ukrainian leader to leave the White House.

Trump flew to Florida and wrote in his social network Truth Social that "the President of Zelensky could return when he was ready for peace." The signing of an agreement on minerals has abolished, and the President of Ukraine flew to Europe on a summit on a situation in his country.

Quarrel in front of the public

The Americanist, whom the New European Europe spoke (he preferred to remain anonymous for security consideration), notes the unprecedented conflict. Even if the White House has negotiations on increased colors between the leaders of the countries, this usually happens behind closed doors, and not in front of journalists, he says.

According to the Ukrainian political scientist Olesya Yakhno, the Zelensky trip to the United States initially looked a risky step, since the signals about possible disagreements with the Donald Trump administration have long existed.

- Before the meeting [from the United States] there were many contradictory assessments to Zelensky and the position of Ukraine. Moreover, it was reported that Trump generally wanted to cancel the meeting, and Zelensky had to contact the [President of France Emmanuel] Macron to take place. This has already indicated the tension of negotiations, ”she says, referring to the information of the French TV channel BFM TV.

Nevertheless, Yakhno believes that the meeting made it possible to identify key disagreements and demonstrate the real situation in the relations of Ukraine, the USA and Europe.

- Trump says Putin wants peace. Only for some reason this is not yet noticeable on real actions by Russia in relation to Ukraine. There is Europe, which also reacts [to the war -war] and is trying to build a line related to defense. Therefore, Zelensky could decide to take a chance and make this visit. Perhaps he thought that after Trump’s conversation with Macron and [British Prime Minister Kir], USMER of the US position, US position could move slightly. As you can see, this did not happen, ”adds Yakhno.

As the American pays attention, Zelensky is well acquainted with Trump and his communication style. At the same time, the Ukrainian president chose a line of behavior, which previously none of the world leaders allowed himself in negotiations with the US president.

“Zelensky did not remain silent, although he could,” the expert notes. - Perhaps the Ukrainian side initially understood that the Americans would not be able to achieve either the continuation of military assistance or security guarantees. Maybe this [skirmish in the White House] is such an attempt to break relations, or try to somehow redirect them from a more strict position. He explains.

Yakhno notes that the United States was interested in the resource agreement, Trump was important to show its voters that he returns the money spent on the war of Ukraine with Russia. But Zelensky was not intended to make concessions without clarity on the issue of security, which served as one of the triggers of the conflict.

The initial transaction during the discussions was changed in such a way that the ownership of the resources remained with Ukraine, but they should have been joint, the expert explains. - Amendments were made to the agreement requiring additional agreements that specify how the funds will work, it seems that the Donald Trump administration realized that even after signing this agreement, the specifics of filling this transaction would depend on subsequent agreements. And Ukraine and Vladimir Zelensky do not intend to deviate from the requirements to clarify the format of conditions that may accompany the truce. Therefore, even if this deal was signed, at the next stage this conflict could still arise, ”the interlocutor of Novo-Europe explains.

The Americanist admits that the United States decided not to conclude a resource transaction before a meeting with Zelensky, because the agreement has changed too much compared to the original option, when Trump planned to get $ 350-500 billion. “In this sense, the conflict has become a convenient occasion to refuse the transaction,” the expert argues.

As another version of the cause of the skirmish, he considers the intervention of the deputy prime minister of the United States in the conversation.

- Vance is one of the most high -profile critics of assistance to Ukraine. He did not support military assistance packages when he was a senator, and he still holds this opinion. He said that he doesn’t care what will happen to Ukraine, what territorial concessions will be and that Ukraine is not in the orbit of American national interests. That Ukrainian officials for American money buy yachts for themselves and so on. Perhaps he had such an idea to expose Zelensky before Trump and to the general public as a not -so -honored person. And to force him to make concessions, ”says the interlocutor of Novy-Europe.

US reaction

Before arriving at the White House, Zelensky met with senators from both parties - republican and democratic. She went successfully.

However, after the skirmish of the two leaders, the American political community was divided, the expert explains:

• Democrats condemned Trump's behavior, saying that he behaved disrespectfully towards the ally in the person of Zelensky.

• The Republicans supported the president, since, in their opinion, he showed how he protects American national interests and indicated Zelensky that he was in a disadvantageous position.

The reaction of Senator Lindsay Graham, who previously demonstrated the support of Ukraine, was indicative. He called the meeting with Trump a “full disaster” and said about Zelensky: “He either needs to resign and send someone with whom we can do business, or he must change.”

Senator Roger Wicker deleted a post with a photo where he presses his hand to Zelensky.

The future of Ukrainian-American relations

The American expert notes that Ukraine can still normalize relations with the United States, since the White House has left the opportunity to resume negotiations. Trump said that "President Zelensky may return when he will be ready for peace." The head of the State Department Marco Rubio said that the President of Ukraine should apologize after the skirmish with Trump and Vance.

However, the interlocutor of Novo-Europe admits that in Washington they could decide that the military support of Ukraine was ceasing, even before meeting with Zelensky, and this incident began only a reason to publicly voice this position. In this case, further cooperation with Washington for Kyiv will become almost impossible.

“Formally, the possibility of normalizing relations remains. On the other hand, it seems that not, given Trump's attitude to Zelensky, which actually developed since his first term. Of course, there is a spare option to replace Zelensky with someone else, but now it is not very believed in it. It seems to me that this meeting fundamentally did not change anything and that the White House has already made a fundamental decision that there would be no military support for Ukraine and that it would not be provided with any security guarantees. And the situation was only a convenient occasion to publicly voice and fix this position, ”the expert says.

According to Yakhno, Zelensky was supported in Ukraine, since we are not talking about his reputation, but about the future of the country and attempts to impose one -sided compromises to it.

“We have not heard anywhere, for what concessions and even just what the Russian Federation is exactly offering,” adds the interlocutor of Novo-Europe.

However, criticism also sounds - part of the Ukrainian society believes that the diplomatic approach requires a review, and more experts and representatives of the opposition should be involved in negotiations. “Everyone is trying to find some option, realizing that relations with the United States are important for Ukraine, it will be difficult to do without their support-and not only to Ukraine, but also in Europe,” Yakhno explains.

The role of Europe

Yakhno, in a conversation with Novo-Europe, emphasizes that after a conflict in the White House, Ukraine will make a bet on support from European countries:

“The skirmish with Trump may be due to the fact that in Europe it has developed a position that is different from the United States. It is based on a longer vision of security, unlike Washington, which focuses on economic aspects. ”

Yakhno recalls that European leaders insist on guarantees of their own safety and security for Ukraine, and also believe that they must participate in the negotiation process.

“Any truce should proceed from the vision of a long world and an understanding of the general picture of the movement towards the world. And any truce should be supported by security guarantees in case Russia violates it. In this case, a prescribed complex of possible defense actions and answers requires, ”the expert says.

Italian Prime Minister George Melony, who has a good relationship with Trump, called for an emergency summit with the participation of the United States, the EU and the Allies.

“[Such a summit is necessary] to frankly talk about how we intend to resist today's serious challenges, starting from Ukraine, which we defended together in recent years. <...> Italy intends to make such an offer to its partners in the next few hours, ”Meloni said in a statement.

The head of the Italian government noted that any split between Western countries makes these states weaker and beneficial to those who would like to see the decline of Western civilization. “Separation is not beneficial to anyone [their Western countries],” she added.

After the conflict with Trump, many Western leadersexpressed support to Ukraine. In particular, French President Emmanuel Macron supported Zelensky and Ukrainian people. Cyrus Starmer will hold a summit in London with the participation of Vladimir Zelensky and European leaders. The President of Ukraine has already arrived in the UK.

Zelensky himself, after a meeting with Trump, wrote in X:

“Despite a difficult dialogue, we remain strategic partners. But we need to be honest and straight with each other in order to truly understand our common goals. ”