The meeting between Trump and Zelensky ended in a major scandal. Why is this important

During the president's visit Of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky in the White House, a public altercation took place between him and American leader Donald Trump, which was watched live by the whole world. The purpose of the trip, which was to sign a deal on rare earth metals and discuss a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, was not achieved. The planned lunch and press conference were canceled, Zelensky was asked to leave. What consequences this scandal will lead to is in the Izvestia article.

What is the reason for the quarrel

• On February 28, Zelensky arrived at the White House for talks with Trump. During the meeting in the presence of journalists, which lasted about 50 minutes, an altercation broke out between them . The American president pointed out to his Ukrainian counterpart the disrespectful attitude towards the United States. In turn, the vice president USA J.D. Vance accused Zelensky of forgetting to thank Washington for its support to Kiev.

• The Ukrainian leader was rude to Vance, saying that he had not been to Ukraine and did not see what was happening there, so he could not talk about Kiev's problems. Zelensky also argued that Vance allegedly should not talk too loudly about the conflict. To this, Trump replied that the vice president did not speak loudly, and the Ukrainian leader was not in such a strong position to communicate in such a tone.

• The press conference following their meeting was canceled, and Zelensky, despite his delegation's attempts to return to the negotiating table, was asked to leave. Later, Trump posted a statement on the Truth Social network in which he noted that Zelensky had shown disrespect and showed unwillingness to a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. The signing of the U.S.-Ukraine rare earth metals deal was also canceled.

• Soon, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt announced the possible termination of American aid to Ukraine. She stressed that Joe Biden is no longer in the Oval Office, so the United States will no longer just write checks for a distant conflict without a real, lasting peace. Thus, Kiev's military financing may become Europe's responsibility.

A complete failure: what awaits Ukraine after the scandal between Zelensky and Trump in the White House

The United States is considering ending all military assistance to Ukraine

• Zelensky had chances to have a conversation with Trump and Vance in a different scenario. On Thursday, the American leader predicted a very good meeting and spoke about his continued respect for his Ukrainian counterpart. However, Zelensky, by all accounts, has lost an adequate perception of reality. Arriving at the White House, he made all possible mistakes, not noticing the hints from the opposite side and not taking the chance to remain silent, humbly bowing his head — that's all that needed to be done to sign the deal (papers and pens were already on the tables) and maintain stable relations with Washington.

• Zelensky underestimated the dramatic change in American politics after Trump's arrival. Over the past three years, no one in the West has criticized the Ukrainian leader. On the contrary, everyone called him a hero. And it played a cruel joke on him, because he was not ready for the remarks of the American president. Zelensky also stubbornly demonstrates that he does not agree to any concessions to Russia. And this violates any negotiation logic. It also became a public contradiction of Trump's position, which talks about finding a compromise.

• In addition, one of Zelensky's main mistakes was pointing out to Trump the vulnerability of the United States. The Ukrainian leader said that the only source of the country's strength is allegedly a successful geography (twice the remark was uttered that "you have a beautiful ocean"), which allows the United States to stay away from hot spots. It acted like a red rag on a bull. After all, Trump and his vice president have built their entire political campaign on the theme of America's strength. To say this in the Oval Office in the presence of the media meant to provoke reputational risks that Trump cannot afford.

• Trump treats the conflict in Ukraine as an unpleasant combination of circumstances, in which all participants are to blame, and most of all, his predecessor Joe Biden. The key position of the new US president is that he does not want to support anyone, but aims to cease fire as soon as possible in order to stop the bloodshed and switch to an economic confrontation with China. This is a fundamental reversal in Washington's foreign policy.

• There is a second version of what happened. The White House has stressed several times that the quarrel was not staged in advance. However, Zelensky could well have done this, deliberately provoking Trump and Vance. This could be a scenario for breaking the deal, as well as a way to show that the United States would have to agree to the European plan for security guarantees for Ukraine. It is significant that after the scandal, all European leaders came out in support of Zelensky with a united front.

What will the scandal lead to

• The public skirmish, the complete failure of negotiations, the failure to sign the rare earth metals deal and Zelensky's early departure from the White House dramatically increased the chances of resolving the conflict in Ukraine through Russian-American negotiations and, mainly, on Russian terms. At the same time, the countdown to the end of the Zelensky regime began.

• After the scandal, Trump is likely to accelerate Washington's withdrawal from the Ukrainian conflict. All responsibility for supporting Kiev in the conflict will fall on the EU.

• The United States has the main levers to end the conflict. Washington can turn off Starlink, which is linked to the entire control system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the conflict will end as soon as possible. But so far, the United States is not doing this, because they understand that they can get more benefits from the current situation.

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• Prospects for a peaceful settlement in the coming year are practically reduced to zero in Brussels. The EU cannot allow Russia to win, because that would mean that Europe lost, not Ukraine. Perhaps, European cruise missiles will be supplied to Kiev. However, EU assistance can only prolong the conflict for a year or a year and a half, but not win for Ukraine.

Is it possible to return to negotiations

• After the failed negotiations with Trump, Zelensky said in an interview with the American media that he saw nothing wrong with his dispute with the American president. However, he noted that he had nothing to apologize for. However, later, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that Zelensky should not have behaved in a hostile manner, and he needed to apologize, as he had wasted the time of the American authorities.

• After the scandal in Washington, Zelensky will go to London. Despite the fact that the head of Ukraine has been asked to leave the White House, at the moment it is impossible to exclude the possibility that the Ukrainian delegation, with the support of the Europeans, in particular, the British and the French, will be able to persuade Trump again to return to dialogue.

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Even NATO gave a positive assessment of the leaders' contacts

• The head of EU diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, said after Zelensky and Trump's altercation at the White House that the free world needs a new leader. However, who will take this role remains a mystery. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are the most active on the topic of the Ukrainian conflict. On the eve of the scandal, they visited Washington to enlist Trump's support. However, after Zelensky's visit, their efforts may be fruitless.

• Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Italy Giorgio Meloni also claims to be an intermediary between Trump and Zelensky. She openly supports Ukraine. However, it is ideologically not far from the current administration of the United States. At the same time, there is no consensus on Russia and Ukraine within the Italian government itself. She is betting on the West speaking with Russia with one voice and continuing to support Ukraine. However, George Meloni does not have much political weight.

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In an hour and a half, they also discussed prisoner exchanges, the situation in the Middle East and the Iran nuclear deal

•Europe is currently between two fires. She wants Russia to be defeated, even to the detriment of her economic interests. However, the EU would not like to permanently sever relations with Washington, with which it is strongly connected, including in the field of security. At the same time, there is a risk that Europe may split due to the unwillingness of a number of countries to go against America. In another scenario, the European elites will be able to rally the European Union around a new center — for example, London, Paris or Berlin — around the idea of confronting the "enemies of democracy" in the person of Trump, Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.