“THE Volodimir Zelenski Faced with a deadlock dilemma: either risking his anger Donald Trumpeither to accept a rapid agreement to end the war with Russia at a heavy price to concession to the territory of security guarantees, which may allow Moscow to return stronger in a few years, “he said in a view to tonight’s meeting with his tonight’s meeting with his US president. Bloomberg.
This existential dilemma is faced by the Ukrainian president. After the Summit in Alaska with Vladimir Putin – Donald Trump has not left Volodimir Zelenski a little room for maneuvering, Bloomberg says in his analysis.
The situation is even more fragile because of his last visit to the White House in February, which resulted in a strong confrontation with Trump and a temporary interruption of military aid. This time it will be accompanied by European leaders, but they have limited influence and do not always have a common line.
The delegation will seek clearly by Trump about the security guarantees willing to be provided by the US, as well as a meeting between Zelenski and Putin. Among the attendants of the Ukrainian President are persons with whom Trump maintains personal chemistry, such as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the president of Finland Alexander Stubb.
Zelenski’s goals
In addition to avoiding a new conflict and maintaining Trump’s interest in agreement, Zelenski’s goals in talks include:
To learn more about Putin’s requirements, to determine the timetable for a trilateral meeting and to push the US to stricter sanctions against Russiaaccording to a person with knowledge of processes not named by Bloomberg.
Whether or her can achieve any of them, according to European officials, than how much Putin has influenced Trump. Following Friday’s meeting, Trump appears to be re -identified with the Russian president, abandoning the demand for immediate ceasefire as a prerequisite for negotiations. Instead, he said he would push Zelenski to proceed immediately with a peace plan.
“Putin has many demands,” Zelenski said on a joint press conference in Brussels with European Commission President Ursula von der Laien. “It will take time to be examined, not under the pressure of weapons,” he added, noting that a ceasefire was needed to proceed with the final agreement.
In increasing pressure on Kiev, the US president left open the possibility of accepting Putin’s claims to concession to large areas of eastern Ukraine, which Russia and its forces have been trying to occupy since 2014.
Despite Russia’s heavy demands, there is evidence that the US is now willing to support an agreement. Trump informed European leaders how Washington could contribute to security guarantees and that Putin accepts them. However, it remains unclear what kind of guarantees are being discussed with Moscow and what is really willing to accept Putin.
“We came to an agreement that the US and other countries could offer Ukraine a wording commensurate with Article 5 of NATO,” CNN told CNN Steve WhitkovTrump’s special envoy.
Under pressure and Trump
Trump, for his part, is under pressure himself. He had pledged that by taking power in January, he would quickly end Russia’s full -scale invasion already in its fourth year. However, he finally admitted that the Kremlin is the one that refuses to stop the war.
Instead of compromising, Russia has intensified its attacks. The deaths of civilians increased dramatically, with the months of June and July being the most bloody of the last three years, according to the UN.
Prior to the Alaska Summit, Trump had warned that refusing a ceasefire would lead to harsh sanctions against Moscow and countries buying Russian oil. Following the meeting, including a red carpet reception and a common movement in the presidential limousine, Trump withdrew the threats.
Instead of punishing the attacker, he announced that he was pursuing a complete peace agreement that includes “exchange of territories” and urged Zelenski to accept it. On Sunday, the Ukrainian president reiterated that he would not accept territorial concessions or exchanges.
“Since the territorial issue is so critical, it should only be discussed among the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, in the presence of the US,” Zelenski said. “So far, Russia shows no disposition for a tripartite meeting,” he said.
The refusal to concession expresses the will of the majority of the Ukrainians, although support for Zelenski has begun to decline due to the failures of counterattacks and the growing number of victims. There are fears that any further retreat will lead to future Russian attacks.
The talks in Washington are also critical for the internal political front of Zelenski. At the end of July, he faced the first serious political crisis since the start of the invasion, when thousands took to the streets, reacting to the weakening of independent anti -corruption authorities. Zelenski retreated and restored the independence of these services.
His position in talks is complicated by the disagreements between the US, Ukraine and European Allies. Trump believes Russia can understand the whole of Ukraine even though so far the Kremlin has managed to control less than 20% of Ukrainian territorywith over 1 million dead. Europeans are concerned that a possible agreement under favorable terms for Moscow will encourage Putin to expand his aggression.
“It is important for the US to work with Europe to provide security guarantees in Ukraine,” Zelenski said on Sunday. “But there are no details on how it will work, what will be the role of America, who of Europe, what the EU can do. This is our main mission,” he said.