International
pti-PTI
All
it
took
was
90
seconds
for
weeks
of
tortured
diplomacy
to
unwind
in
spectacular
fashion.
President
Donald
Trump’s
Oval
Office
thrashing
of
Ukraine’s
Volodymyr
Zelenskyy
on
Friday
laid
bare
the
limits
of
a
full-court
press
by
America’s
allies
aimed
at
reshaping
Trump’s
determination
to
end
Russia’s
invasion
even
if
the
terms
are
not
to
Ukraine’s
liking.
It
also
stressed
the
profound
ways
Trump
feels
emboldened
to
redirect
US
foreign
policy
priorities
toward
his
“America
First”
agenda
in
ways
that
extend
well
beyond
those
of
his
tumultuous
first
term.
The
sudden
blowup
was
the
most
heated
public
exchange
of
words
between
world
leaders
in
the
Oval
Office
in
memory,
as
the
usual
staid
work
of
diplomacy
descended
into
finger-pointing,
shouting
and
eye-rolling.
Source:
PTI
The
encounter
left
the
future
of
the
US-Ukraine
relationship,
and
Kyiv’s
ability
to
defend
itself
in
the
brutal
conflict
with
Russia,
in
mortal
jeopardy.
“You
either
make
a
deal
or
we
are
out,”
Trump
told
Zelenskyy,
underscoring
the
American
leader’s
plans
to
dictate
a
swift
end
to
the
war
or
leave
its
longtime
ally
to
continue
the
fight
without
its
strongest
backer.
The
stunning
episode
capped
a
week
of
what
turned
out
to
be
largely
futile
efforts
by
US
allies
to
paper
over
differences
between
Washington
and
Kyiv
and
to
try
to
steer
Trump
away
from
his
flirtations
with
Moscow.
On
Monday,
French
President
Emmanuel
Macron
huddled
with
Trump
to
lay
the
groundwork
for
an
eventual
European-led
peacekeeping
force
in
Ukraine
aimed
at
deterring
future
Russian
aggression
and
to
encourage
the
US
president
to
be
more
sceptical
of
Vladimir
Putin.
But
even
as
Trump
and
Macron
greeted
each
other
with
a
vise-like
grip,
the
US
was
splitting
with
its
European
allies
at
the
United
Nations
by
refusing
to
blame
Russia
for
its
invasion
of
Ukraine
in
a
series
of
resolutions
marking
the
three-year
anniversary
of
the
war.
On
Thursday,
British
Prime
Minister
Keir
Starmer
visited
Washington
and
appealed
to
Trump
for
a
US
“backstop”
for
European
nations
who
would
provide
front-line
security
for
Ukraine.
He
was
in
essence
looking
for
insurance
that,
should
a
peace
deal
be
reached,
Russia
won’t
restart
the
fighting
in
the
future.
Starmer
brought
flattery
and
a
state
visit
invitation
from
King
Charles
III
to
soften
the
ask.
The
approach
seemed
to
work,
as
Trump
struck
a
more
conciliatory
tone
toward
Ukraine,
calling
America’s
support
for
the
country
against
Russia’s
invasion
“a
very
worthy
thing
to
do”
and
disclaiming
any
memory
that
he
had
called
the
Ukrainian
leader
a
“dictator”.
But
Trump
also
brushed
aside
Putin’s
past
broken
diplomatic
promises,
claiming
they
occurred
under
different
presidents,
and
saying
the
Russian
leader
had
never
violated
a
commitment
to
him.
It
came
as
his
aides
were
planning
a
series
of
negotiating
sessions
with
Russian
officials
to
lay
the
groundwork
for
a
potential
meeting
between
Trump
and
Putin
in
the
coming
weeks.
All
the
while,
Trump
was
focused
on
securing
a
financial
stake
in
Ukraine’s
critical
minerals
to
recoup
the
tens
of
billions
the
U.S.
has
given
to
Kyiv
to
defend
itself.
Zelenskyy,
meanwhile,
wanted
more
than
Washington’s
vague
promises
that
the
US
would
work
to
preserve
its
economic
interest
in
Ukraine
under
the
agreement
and
pushed
for
more
concrete
security
guarantees.
But
Trump
would
not
budge,
and
US
officials
repeatedly
said
Zelenskyy
would
not
be
welcome
to
meet
with
the
president
to
discuss
Trump’s
push
for
negotiations
with
Russia
until
it
was
signed.
After
weeks
of
browbeating,
Zelenskyy’s
government
on
Wednesday
formally
agreed
to
the
proposal,
clearing
the
path
for
Friday’s
meeting.
It
started
off
cordially
enough,
as
Trump
and
Zelenskyy
spoke
politely,
even
with
admiration,
of
one
of
another
for
the
first
half-hour
of
the
meeting.
Trump
even
suggested
he
would
continue
some
military
assistance
to
Ukraine
until
he
could
secure
an
enduring
peace
deal
with
Russia.
But
when
the
Ukrainian
leader
raised
alarm
about
trusting
any
promises
from
Putin
to
end
the
fighting,
Vice
President
JD
Vance
rebuked
him
for
airing
disagreements
with
Trump
in
public.
It
instantly
shifted
the
tenor
of
the
conversation.
Zelenskyy
grew
defensive,
and
Trump
and
his
vice
president
blasted
him
as
ungrateful
and
“disrespectful”
and
issued
stark
warnings
about
future
American
support.
South
Carolina
Sen.
Lindsey
Graham,
both
a
defense
hawk
and
a
strident
ally
of
Trump’s,
said
he
had
warned
Zelenskyy
ahead
of
the
meeting
“not
to
take
the
bait”
in
his
dealings
with
Trump,
who
has
repeatedly
shown
a
penchant
for
throwing
criticism
but
a
deep
resistance
to
receiving
it.
It
was
Vance
—
a
longtime
critic
of
American
support
for
Ukraine
—
who
dangled
it,
when
he
insisted
diplomacy
was
the
only
pathway
forward.
“What
kind
of
diplomacy,
JD,
you
are
speaking
about?”
Zelenskyy
said,
listing
Russia’s
past
violations
of
ceasefires.
“What
do
you
mean?”
“I’m
talking
about
the
kind
of
diplomacy
that’s
going
to
end
the
destruction
of
your
country,”
Vance
responded
before
tearing
into
the
Ukrainian
leader.
“President,
with
respect,
I
think
it’s
disrespectful
for
you
to
come
into
the
Oval
Office
to
try
to
litigate
this
in
front
of
the
American
media.”
Trump
then
let
loose,
warning
the
Ukrainian
leader,
“You’re
gambling
with
World
War
III,
and
what
you’re
doing
is
very
disrespectful
to
the
country,
this
country
that’s
backed
you
far
more
than
a
lot
of
people
say
they
should
have.”
At
another
point,
Trump
declared
himself
“in
the
middle”,
seeming
to
formally
break
from
years
of
American
support
for
Ukraine.
He
went
on
to
deride
Zelenskyy’s
“hatred”
for
Putin
as
a
roadblock
to
peace.
“You
see
the
hatred
he’s
got
for
Putin,”
Trump
said.
“That’s
very
tough
for
me
to
make
a
deal
with
that
kind
of
hate.”
“It’s
going
to
be
a
very
hard
thing
to
do
business
like
this,”
Trump
said
to
Zelenskyy
as
the
two
leaders
talked
over
each
other.
The
episode
was
just
the
latest
instance
of
Trump’s
brazen
moves
to
shift
long-held
American
policy
positions
in
his
first
six
weeks
back
in
office,
portending
even
more
uncertainty
ahead
for
longtime
American
allies
and
partners
who
have
already
felt
pressed
to
justify
their
place
in
Trump’s
eyes.
It
comes
just
weeks
after
Trump
floated
a
permanent
relocation
of
Palestinians
in
Gaza
and
an
American
takeover
of
the
territory,
and
as
he
has
doubled
down
on
plans
to
put
stiff
tariffs
on
goods
from
Mexico
and
Canada
starting
next
week.
After
the
Oval
Office
dustup,
Zelenskyy
was
asked
to
leave
the
White
House
by
top
Trump
advisers
—
scrapping
plans
for
a
lunch,
a
joint
press
conference
and
the
signing
of
the
economic
agreement,
even
as
the
Ukrainian
leader
and
his
aides
pushed
for
a
“reset”
on
the
meeting.
Trump
later
told
reporters
he
didn’t
want
to
“embolden”
the
Ukrainian
leader
if
he
didn’t
want
“peace”
with
Russia
—
flipping
what
Ukraine
had
seen
as
an
inducement
for
security
guarantees
into
a
cudgel.
“You
can’t
embolden
somebody
who
does
not
have
the
cards,”
Trump
said.
After
the
disastrous
encounter,
Zelenskyy
appeared
on
Fox
News
on
Friday
evening
and
told
Bret
Baier
that
his
public
spat
with
Trump
and
Vance
was
“not
good
for
both
sides”.
But
Zelenskyy
said
Trump
—
who
insists
Putin
is
ready
to
end
the
three-year
grinding
war
—
needs
to
understand
that
Ukraine
can’t
change
its
attitudes
toward
Russia
on
a
dime.
Zelenskyy
added
that
Ukraine
won’t
enter
peace
talks
with
Russia
until
it
has
security
guarantees
against
another
offensive.
“Everybody
(is)
afraid
Putin
will
come
back
tomorrow,”
Zelenskyy
said.
“We
want
just
and
lasting
peace.”
“It’s
so
sensitive
for
our
people,”
Zelenskyy
said.
“And
they
just
want
to
hear
that
America
(is)
on
our
side,
that
America
will
stay
with
us.
Not
with
Russia,
with
us.
That’s
it.”
Zelenskyy
acknowledged
that
without
US
support,
his
country’s
position
would
grow
“difficult”.
After
repeatedly
declining
opportunities
to
apologise
to
Trump,
Zelensky
closed
his
Fox
appearance
with
a
sheepish
expression
of
remorse
as
he
struggled
with
the
reality
of
Trump’s
new
direction
in
Washington:
“Sorry
for
this.”
(AP)
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