Historic confrontation! Trump and Zelensky confront each other again, European leaders rarely form a group to go to the United States to put pressure

This article is authorized to be reproduced from: Chinese Life Network; WeChat ID: HuarenLife168

On August 18, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky arrived at the White House and held high-profile talks with US President Trump.

This meeting is not only the second time Trump and Zelensky had a “conflict meeting” in February, but also because of the participation of leaders of many European countries, it is regarded as a “key summit” that may affect the direction of the war situation between Russia and Ukraine.

What’s unusual about this talk is that Zelensky did not appear alone.

British Prime Minister Kiel Stamer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, German CDU President Friedrich Meltz, European Commission President von der Leyen and other European leaders gathered in Washington.

British Prime Minister Kiel Stamer arrives at the White House

French President Emmanuel MacronArrival at the White House

Italian Prime Minister Georgia MeloniArrival at the White House

European Commission President Von der Ley arrives at the White House

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rut arrives at the White House

These European politicians call themselves the “coalition of the will” and their common goal is to put pressure on US President Trump to ensure that Ukraine’s core interests are not sacrificed at the negotiating table.Analysts believe that this “group appearance” is largely supported by Zelensky to avoid being isolated in the bilateral game with Trump.

Zelensky’s outfit once again attracted attention from the outside world.

He wore a black jacket with a stand-up collar shirt, which looked more formal and “diplomatic” than the controversial military sweater in February. However, he still did not wear a tie and maintained his usual “semi-formal style”. Trump expressed his “approval” in the face of this and took a photo with his arms around his shoulder.

At the opening, Zelensky thanked the first lady of the United States, Melania.

Earlier, Melania personally wrote to Putin, calling for the protection of innocent children in the war. The letter was forwarded to Putin through Trump during the Alaska summit. Zelensky also gave back a handwritten letter written by Ukrainian First Lady Olena to Melania, emphasizing the humanitarian interaction between the two countries’ “first family”.

Just before the meeting, Trump once again publicly set the “peace bottom line”:Ukraine must give up its attempt to take back Crimea and promise not to join NATO. Trump said bluntly on social media: “Didn’t return to Crimea who was handed away by Obama era! Didn’t join NATO! Some things will never change.”

Trump also claimed that Zelensky was “fully capable of ending the war immediately”, implying that if Kiev was willing to accept the above conditions, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict might “cease fire immediately.”

Zelensky responded immediately, and when he was in Brussels, he stated: “The real negotiation should start from the current situation on the front line, and the contact line is the negotiation line.”In other words, he refused to use Crimea and NATO as “bargaining chips”, insisting that Ukraine will not make concessions on territorial and sovereignty.

This is exactly the biggest difference between the two sides: Trump emphasizes “pragmatism” and “stop the war immediately”, and Zelensky adheres to “justice” and “complete sovereignty”.

While sitting in the Oval Office with Zelensky, Trump revealed that he would talk to Putin on the phone after the meeting. Putin is waiting for this “critical call” and the three may hold a “tripartite summit”. “If we can hold tripartite talks, maybe there will be a chance to end the battle; if not, the war will continue.”

CNN reported that whether the United States will play a role in future security in the Russian-Ukrainian peace talks held at the White House has become the focus of discussion. Trump said the issue will continue to be discussed in depth with European leaders later that day, and hinted that new news may be announced soon.

Trump stressed that European countries will assume the leading responsibility, but added: “There will be a lot of aid.” This statement was interpreted as the first time he was “open to” the possible military support of the United States in public.

However, the outside world has different views on this prospect. On the one hand, when Trump and Putin met in Alaska last week, although the atmosphere was “constructive”, the ceasefire framework was not reached; on the other hand, European leaders’ collective appearance this time were obviously unwilling to let the United States and Russia directly decide the fate of Ukraine.

French and German diplomats revealed that the focus of their trip was to clearly state to Trump: Ukraine’s territorial integrity is a red line. Even if the war continues, Europe will not agree to reach an agreement at the cost of cede land.

Italian Prime Minister Meloni said bluntly: “Any negotiation must respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and the choice of the people.”

Just hours before European leaders arrived at the White House one after another and prepared to hold historic talks with President Trump on Russia-Ukraine peace, Trump once again “fired all his energy” on social media.This time, his finger was aimed at the Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street Journal previously commented that Trump seemed to have “pawned a red carpet” for Russia during his closed-door summit with Putin in Alaska last week, failed to reach a ceasefire framework, and was still “expressing weakness” in the atmosphere. In response, Trump issued a series of long articles to fight back at Truth Social:

“I solved six wars in 6 months, and one of them was a big crisis that could trigger a nuclear disaster. But I had to read, listen to the Wall Street Journal and other people who knew nothing about me, I did something wrong with the Russian-Ukrainian issue. In fact, it was the ‘sleepy Joe’ Biden war, not mine. I’m just here to end it, not to let it go.”

Trump also claimed that if I were the president at the time, this war would not have happened at all. I know very well what I am doing and don’t need people who have been struggling in these conflicts for many years but have never stopped anything from happening to guide me. They are ‘stupid’ people, neither common sense, wisdom, nor understanding, and will only make the current disaster in Russia and Ukraine more difficult to solve.

Finally, he stressed: “With so many lightweight, jealous critics, I’ll do it – I’ve always been like that!”

The footnotes left by this “White House Summit” in history may depend on the next 48 hours.

Supporters believe that this may be the closest moment to peace since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war; skeptics point out that the differences between Trump and Zelensky are too fundamental, and the so-called “tripartite summit” is more like a political show, and there is still a long way to go before a real ceasefire.

What is certain is that this is not just a bilateral meeting between the United States and Ukraine, but a multi-party competition with global attention. In the next few days, Washington’s direction may determine whether the war in Europe can usher in a turning point.

Related readings: