Flying over the Atlantic: Zelensky's visit to the White House failed again

Vladimir Zelensky arrived in the United States hoping to persuade Donald Trump to give Ukraine a Tomahawk and increase pressure on Russia, but the negotiations that took place on October 17 seem to have ended in nothing. The American president is unlikely to approve the sending of cruise missiles to Kiev, since he does not intend to escalate, the expert community told Izvestia. Trump does not want to spoil relations with Moscow in order to remain in the role of mediator. He will try to take into account the experience of the meeting in Alaska, after which the European allies of the United States were able to ensure the continuation of the conflict. The State Duma told Izvestia that the next possible summit should be held on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Meeting of Trump and Zelensky at the White House

Vladimir Zelensky's visit to the United States did not go well from the very beginning. Many people noticed that none of the representatives of the American administration met him at the airport. There was no honor guard on the runway either. To smooth out the situation, the Ukrainian side organized its own "meeting." The head of Zelensky's office, Andriy Ermak, the new Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Olga Stefanyshina, and the crew of the aircraft on which Zelensky arrived were waiting at the ramp of Zelensky's plane.

A few days ago, it was expected that he would discuss with Donald Trump the details of the transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine and increased military assistance to Kiev. Reuters wrote that the Ukrainian delegation had even prepared a presentation on the use of these missiles for the US president. According to media reports, Zelensky brought Trump maps with "pain points" of the Russian defense industry.

However, the main topic of the meeting seems to have been the conversation between the American president and Vladimir Putin on the eve of October 16, following which an agreement was reached to organize a Russia-US summit in Budapest. The Verkhovna Rada has already stated that the issue of Tomahawk delivery to Ukraine has been officially put on pause. Many Western media wrote that the conversation between Putin and Trump came as an unpleasant surprise to Zelensky.

It is noteworthy that the head of the Kiev regime arrived at the White House half an hour later. Either to protest to Trump, or because the US president was busy with another, perhaps more important meeting for him. In the Oval Office, he talked with Italian singer Andrea Bocelli, listening to his hit Con Te Partiro ("I'll Leave with You"). Trump is known to be a fan of the Italian tenor.

Zelensky's visit to the White House this time was without scandal, unlike in the past. At the same time, it is obvious that the Ukrainian leader has learned his lessons — this time he put on a suit, which Trump appreciated immediately at the beginning of the negotiations. However, this is probably the end of the good news for Zelensky.

First, Trump positively assessed the idea of a tunnel between Russia and Alaska, mockingly asking the opinion of his interlocutor, who, of course, is not very happy with this project. In addition, Trump said that the United States itself needs Tomahawk.

Moreover, the journalists noticed the tie of the US Secretary of Defense in the colors of the Russian tricolor. Of course, the same colors are on the American flag, but the coincidence turned out to be extremely unpleasant for the Ukrainian delegation.

Following the meeting, Zelensky left without giving any comments to the media. The head of the White House did not accompany him to his car. Later, he had a telephone conversation with European leaders.

Although the topic of strikes deep into Russia was discussed at the White House, Trump expressed hope before the talks for the end of the Ukrainian conflict without the need to supply Tomahawk to Kiev. The White House understands that the transfer of these weapons to Ukraine would be an escalation of the crisis, Trump said. At the same time, such a step would not have changed the situation on the battlefield in favor of Kiev.

— Trump is a reasonable politician, he understands that he does not want to compromise himself in front of the other side, unlike the Biden administration, which took the position of, in fact, the side at war with Moscow, and it did not want any dialogue until the issue of Russia's surrender arose. Trump still wants to play the role of mediator, and he's being careful," Dmitry Novikov, head of the HSE's Laboratory of Political Geography and Modern Geopolitics, told Izvestia.

The American leader decided to raise questions about Tomahawk supplies, which he was going to discuss with Zelensky, first in a conversation with Putin, because this is a sensitive topic for Russia, the expert added. After the meeting at the White House, the head of Ukraine said about Tomahawks: "we agreed not to talk about it. We don't want an escalation."

If we look at Trump's nine-month period as president, we can conclude that he avoided escalation, said George Samueli, a senior researcher at the US Institute for Global Policy.

The Ukrainian settlement and the Budapest Summit

Meanwhile, Hungary is preparing in full swing for a meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States. The previous summit was held in Alaska in mid-August. Unfortunately, he was unable to provide the necessary impetus to accelerate the negotiation process on Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier noted that it had been exhausted by the efforts of supporters of the continuation of the conflict, primarily the EU.

— It should be assumed that Trump will learn from his mistakes, and this time he will not allow his European NATO partners to repeat the same thing. He will try to take into account Russia's interests to some extent," George Samueli believes.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on October 17 that he had called his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. He also called the assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, Yuri Ushakov. On the same day, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin. Trump explained that the summit would be bilateral, but Zelensky would be in touch.

The date of the event is not yet known. According to Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, the summit may take place within two weeks or "a little later." Specific details will have to be worked out by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his American counterpart Marco Rubio.

— First, they will call and meet, they will start discussing all topics, all questions. And there are a lot of questions, we need to identify negotiating teams and so on. Everything will be done in stages," he told reporters.

It is also being decided which route the Russian delegation can take to reach the meeting place. One of the options is Turkey — Bulgaria — Serbia — Hungary. However, it is possible that Sofia may close the sky, as happened in 2023, when the Russian delegation led by Sergey Lavrov was forced to change its route to get to North Macedonia for the OSCE Ministerial Council. Then the plane flew through Greece. Media reports say that Putin's flight to Budapest will be escorted by Turkish Air Force planes. The plane is likely to fly on the southern route: through the Caspian Sea, Iran, Turkey, the Mediterranean Sea, Montenegro, Serbia and Hungary.

The European Commission assured that the arrival of Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov in Hungary would not violate the sanctions regime against Russia. Budapest promises to provide the necessary conditions so that the American and Russian presidents can hold talks in a safe and calm environment.

— Hungary is a logical choice. She is part of a European, Western political bloc, but at the same time pursues an open, multi—vector foreign policy. Hungary maintains good, pragmatic relations with Russia, China and the countries of the Global South," Hungarian political analyst Gabor Stier told Izvestia.

After the Budapest summit, the next meeting between Putin and Trump should take place on the territory of the Russian Federation, the State Duma believes. Moreover, the Russian leader invited the American president to Moscow following his visit to Alaska.

— There are certain canons of interstate relations that presuppose the principle of reciprocity. And in this regard, when a bilateral meeting of the heads of state is planned, this principle really assumes: if last time the host country was America (Alaska, although geographically close to the Russian Federation, but it is the United States), and now the meeting will be held on neutral territory in Europe, then, of course, for all external reasons It would be good for the next meeting to take place on the territory of the Russian Federation," Dmitry Novikov, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told Izvestia.

At the same time, the politician stressed that the main thing for the Ukrainian settlement is not a meeting place, but specific agreements that could put an end to the conflict.