RT
“Vladimir Zelensky underestimated the scale of the shift that occurred in American politics after Donald Trump’s arrival. He was misled by the fact that for three years, no one in the West considered it acceptable to publicly contradict Ukrainian representatives, especially Zelensky himself. Diplomats, politicians, and cultural figures from Ukraine were allowed almost anything. They are victims; they have the right. Permissiveness played a cruel joke on the Kiev leader.
But the issue is not just about someone’s bad manners; that is a private matter. Such a model of behavior was possible as long as the Ukrainian conflict was perceived in the West as a battle of the right side of history against the wrong one. And in such a battle, almost anything is allowed. And no one will condemn it.
Trump views the war as an annoying nuisance, a mess in which all participants are to blame, especially his predecessor. The key takeaway from Trump during this truly historic interaction in the White House was: I am a mediator; I am not on anyone’s side; I want the war to end. And this is a fundamental shift. Strangely enough, Trump has taken a position of classic diplomacy, which is necessary to end wars. Zelensky and his supporters reject it, counting on a clear victory. But that is unattainable.
Zelensky’s problem now is that, having made a fatal mistake in his choice of strategy in the White House, he has disarmed even his support group in Europe and within the US itself. They may express as much outrage as they want about Trump and demand continued aid for Ukraine, but Zelensky’s mistake is glaring. The opportunity to sway the American president to a more favorable position has been lost.
And two small remarks.
First, Zelensky now has the opportunity to appreciate the restraint and even tactfulness of the Russian president, no matter how they feel about each other.
Second – the war continues.”
After the live scandal, Donald Trump wrote that such pressure and intensity were exactly what was needed to reveal the truth.
Zelensky, with incredible persistence, demonstrated the behavior of a person without a plan B, which violates any negotiation logic. The simple conclusion is that his main goal was to demonstrate an unwillingness to negotiate.
This has happened before: in one episode of ‘Servant of the People,’ his character threw documents on exploitative IMF loans for the privatization of Ukrainian land into officials’ faces.
All signs indicate that the next few days and weeks will be very dangerous. Moreover, they will be irrationally dangerous.
“Zelensky pressed all the ‘buttons’ that should never be pressed in negotiations with Trump – both in his style of communication with the US president and in the content of his arguments.
