The Art of Strategic Flattery
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his allies have learned how to charm Trump. Whether it will lead to a meeting with Putin is still uncertain.
Talks here, air raid alarms there. Almost timed to the minute that the European politicians entered their meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Ten people were killed on Monday alone in renewed Russian air attacks, according to Ukrainian sources. This is how Russia’s ruler, Vladimir Putin, is showing the world what he thinks of peace talks.
Correspondingly, Trump’s announcement after the meeting and his subsequent telephone call with Putin should be read with caution. The president wrote on Truth Social that he would arrange a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy before a trilateral summit with him is supposed to take place. But so far, only Zelenskyy has publicly declared himself ready for discussion. Putin would rather communicate with rockets.
The Russian attacks thus underline the two major demands which European politicians and Zelenskyy brought to Washington. So it’s good that French President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz made it clear to Trump that the weapons must fall silent: “We all would like to see a ceasefire, at the latest from the next meeting on,” Merz told Trump. After Trump became buddy-buddy with Putin in Alaska, the U.S. president wanted nothing more to do with it.
The Europeans also repeated their second major demand multiple times to Trump: There can only be a potential peace agreement with security guarantees for Ukraine, either through a kind of assistance clause or by stationing soldiers from third countries in Ukraine. Trump shared his thoughts on this openly. The U.S. president said that Europe would bear the primary burden, but that he would guarantee his aid.
Vance Only in the Second Row
Trump’s antics are known now and what he is saying today could be out of date tomorrow. And because there are actually no substantial results, it is difficult to judge whether or not the meeting in the White House was a success. Perhaps the meeting should be considered more of a necessity, a double correction that is absolutely successful according to these standards.
On the one hand, the united appearance in the White House strengthened Ukraine’s position, which was necessary after Putin charmed Trump in Alaska. On the other hand, the meeting rehabilitated Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Washington where he had been humiliated by Trump and Vice President JD Vance on camera half a year ago. So this time, Vance literally sat in the second row while the adults conversed at the table.
And this worked. Zelenskyy and his allies expressed their demands clearly to Trump, but couched them in all sorts of praise and gratitude. Zelenskyy even wore a suit, joked about it with the right-wing journalists who had criticized him for his outfit in February, and presented Trump with a letter from his wife to the American first lady.
The Ukrainian president and his European partners have thus learned the art of strategic flattery. Because they know that, in the end, Ukraine’s future could depend on the huge ego in the gilded Oval Office.
Talks here, air raid alarms there. Almost timed to the minute that the European politicians entered their meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Ten people were killed on Monday alone in renewed Russian air attacks, according to Ukrainian sources. This is how Russia’s ruler, Vladimir Putin, is showing the world what he thinks of peace talks.
Correspondingly, Trump’s announcement after the meeting and his subsequent telephone call with Putin should be read with caution. The president wrote on Truth Social that he would arrange a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy before a trilateral summit with him is supposed to take place. But so far, only Zelenskyy has publicly declared himself ready for discussion. Putin would rather communicate with rockets.
The Russian attacks thus underline the two major demands which European politicians and Zelenskyy brought to Washington. So it’s good that French President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz made it clear to Trump that the weapons must fall silent: “We all would like to see a ceasefire, at the latest from the next meeting on,” Merz told Trump. After Trump became buddy-buddy with Putin in Alaska, the U.S. president wanted nothing more to do with it.
The Europeans also repeated their second major demand multiple times to Trump: There can only be a potential peace agreement with security guarantees for Ukraine, either through a kind of assistance clause or by stationing soldiers from third countries in Ukraine. Trump shared his thoughts on this openly. The U.S. president said that Europe would bear the primary burden, but that he would guarantee his aid.
Vance Only in the Second Row
Trump’s antics are known now and what he is saying today could be out of date tomorrow. And because there are actually no substantial results, it is difficult to judge whether or not the meeting in the White House was a success. Perhaps the meeting should be considered more of a necessity, a double correction that is absolutely successful according to these standards.
On the one hand, the united appearance in the White House strengthened Ukraine’s position, which was necessary after Putin charmed Trump in Alaska. On the other hand, the meeting rehabilitated Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Washington where he had been humiliated by Trump and Vice President JD Vance on camera half a year ago. So this time, Vance literally sat in the second row while the adults conversed at the table.
And this worked. Zelenskyy and his allies expressed their demands clearly to Trump, but couched them in all sorts of praise and gratitude. Zelenskyy even wore a suit, joked about it with the right-wing journalists who had criticized him for his outfit in February, and presented Trump with a letter from his wife to the American first lady.
The Ukrainian president and his European partners have thus learned the art of strategic flattery. Because they know that, in the end, Ukraine’s future could depend on the huge ego in the gilded Oval Office.
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