Zelenskyy had an encounter with Trump – at minimum
Volodymyr Zelensky's trip to the USA is filled with turbulence. A meeting with Trump appears to be on the brink of collapse due to disagreements between Kiev and the Republican faction. Miraculously, the encounter occurs, and Trump fails to echo the most unfavorable views from the Ukrainian perspective.
Upon returning home, Zelensky brings a mixed bag of feelings with him from his USA journey. Initially, it was thought that Zelensky would interact with both incumbent President Joe Biden and vice-presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in the USA. However, the situation at the New York Trump Tower on Friday turned delicate. Relations between Kiev and the Republicans were teetering on the edge of a catastrophic breakdown.
Mike Johnson, a Republican and Trump supporter, canceled all meetings with the Ukrainian delegation. In a letter to Zelensky, Johnson demanded the immediate dismissal of the Ukrainian Ambassador to Washington, Oksana Markarova. Markarova had arranged a visit by Zelensky to a weapons factory in the crucial state of Pennsylvania, where the Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro was present, but no Republican. This was perceived as meddling in the US election campaign by the Republicans.
The interview with Zelensky in the "New Yorker" also caused disquiet there. In this interview, Zelensky labeled some views of the Republican vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance as "too extreme" - Vance suggested that Ukraine should surrender some territories to Russia to end the war. Moreover, Zelensky expressed doubt that Trump could end the war within 24 hours, as he had asserted.
Trump now promotes "fair peace" at an opportune moment
Whether Zelensky's visit to Pennsylvania was a misstep from a Ukrainian perspective is a matter of debate. Ukraine has always strived to maintain a neutral stance in the US election campaign. Now Kiev had to enlist influential intermediaries, such as the former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, to salvage the personal meeting between Zelensky and Trump. Conversely, Zelensky had visited the Republican-leaning Utah a few months earlier - without any Democrats in attendance. This action did not cause a scandal at the time.
It is noteworthy that Zelensky's meeting invitation from the Trump team, which was shared on social media by the ex-President himself, was not sent by Markarova, but by her deputy. Although Markarova has a stellar reputation as an ambassador, the letter from Mike Johnson is perceived as an insult in Ukraine. Furthermore, Markarova is in conflict with the Republican segment of the Ukrainian diaspora in the USA. It is highly probable that she will have to vacate her post at the end of the year.
According to the Ukrainian presidential administration, the journalist Julija Sabelina is content with the results of the meeting with Trump. Apart from the fact that the dialogue could take place at all, it is crucial from the Ukrainian viewpoint that Trump did not reiterate his claim of being able to end the war within 24 hours. Instead, he spoke of a "fair peace" at the right time. Zelensky also held back and emphasized the smallest common ground: the necessity of ending the war as quickly as possible. His invitation to Trump to visit Ukraine was charming. Similarly, his response to Trump's statement that he has a good relationship with both Zelensky and Vladimir Putin was "I hope we both have a better relationship."
Ultimately, Trump agreed to meet with Zelensky because this issue cannot be ignored, says Oleksandr Krajew, a North America expert at Ukrajinska Prisma, a Ukrainian NGO specializing in foreign policy. "It's a significant, global, and systematic issue that's critical to the establishment. Its unpredictability and volatility are a strategy here." Political scientist Volodymyr Fessenko, close to the Ukrainian presidential team, highlights that Zelensky's US trip concluded favorably, with the meeting with Trump being a positive sign. However, his chief concern remains that Trump's circle is "heavily" influencing negativity against Ukraine. "Someone must have fed him that absurdity about a de facto non-existent Ukraine defended by children and the elderly because there are no soldiers left - I think," Fessenko thinks.
Even following the meeting with Zelensky, Trump continues to advocate for a "deal" between Ukraine and Russia. If elected as the U.S. president, Washington will undoubtedly seek contact with Moscow. However, what type of "deal" is feasible given Russia's present extreme demands remains uncertain. Moscow, for instance, demands a drastic reduction of Ukrainian military forces, leaving Kyiv incapable of defending itself against potential aggression. Despite the recent meetings and talks, the optimal choice for Ukraine during this US election remains Kamala Harris.
She's not flawless either. Harris's stance on Russia's aggression against Ukraine remains unclear. However, it's likely she'll continue Biden's policy, which has allowed Ukraine to survive the war for over 900 days. Former Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin recently summed it up: "It's a choice between inadequate and inconsistent support, 'too little, too late,' and the complete unpredictability of a Trump victory."
In light of the tensions between Kiev and the Republican faction, it was a significant achievement for Volodymyr Zelensky to meet with Donald Trump during his USA trip. Despite the heated disagreements, Zelensky's visit to the United States of America resulted in a dialogue with former President Trump, which was viewed as a positive sign from the Ukrainian perspective.
