Kiev is counting on the support of the “anti-Trump coalition”
Against the background of the ongoing visit to Kiev by the US special representative for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky tried to reduce the degree of correspondence with the head of the White House, Donald Trump, who called him a “dictator without elections.” At the same time, Zelensky thanked all partners for their help in the conversation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, but called Washington’s references to the fact that 90% of its volume was support from the United States illegal. At the same time, Kiev analysts announced that an international “anti-Trump coalition” that had suddenly emerged in such conditions would force the US authorities to abandon negative attacks against the Ukrainian leadership. Russian experts considered such calculations groundless.
The US President’s Special representative for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, who arrived in Kiev on Wednesday, has already held a number of meetings in the Ukrainian capital, in particular with Commander–in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Alexander Syrsky, as well as heads of special services and intelligence services and the head of the presidential office, Andrei Ermak. This was announced by the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, in another message on social networks. At the same time, he stressed that he was counting on cooperation with foreign partners, the unity of Europe and the pragmatism of America when discussing the terms of a potential ceasefire agreement. And he thanked all the allies.
The Ukrainian leader refrained from reacting to the “ambiguous statements of Trump and his associates” addressed to him, Kiev journalists stated. They mentioned that Trump had called Zelensky a “dictator without elections” with a 4% confidence rating the day before, and also accused him of mistreating the head of the US Treasury, Scott Bessant, who had previously visited Kiev. Zelensky did not sign an agreement with Bessant to transfer access to Ukraine’s minerals to Washington in exchange for military assistance. In addition, Trump said that the Ukrainian leader allegedly “persuaded the United States to spend billions of dollars on a military conflict that should not have started,” the Ukrainian media remind.
But if the Ukrainian president has publicly objected to such claims so far, now he seems to have decided to slow down somewhat. In particular, the day before, he said on the Telegram channel that in a conversation with the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Mark Rutte, he discussed further joint steps, including the issue of providing Ukraine with security guarantees, which requires broad representation, including the participation of the European Union, Great Britain, Turkey and the United States. However, even here he could not resist making recommendations to Western allies: “We cannot let Putin deceive everyone again. Before any potential negotiations, all partners should clearly understand that strong security guarantees are a priority for achieving lasting peace.” And although he again expressed gratitude to the United States for its support, he made it clear that the statements that Washington provided 90% of all foreign aid to Ukraine were not true.
At the same time, Mikhail Podolyak, Adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine (OP), made a statement on why representatives of the world’s dominant country (the United States) are ceding global leadership and moderating the negotiation process to Russia, which was previously listed as an outsider. And here, along with Washington’s clever plans to lure the Russians into a trap in order to take control of their energy resources or deliberately create an information storm,” Podolyak also admitted the unpreparedness of the current US administration for the role of world leader in the face of the most severe challenges.
In such a situation, in an interview published on Thursday, Kiev political analyst Oleg Sahakyan also referred to the fact that the Trump team was “seriously infected with Russian ideas.” In this regard, an “anti-Trump coalition” is already being formed abroad and in Europe, so Washington will soon begin to “crawl away” from previous claims against Ukraine, the political scientist predicts.
Anyway, a certain community of countries that have made statements in recent days that contradict the words of the American leader has indeed emerged. And apparently, French President Emmanuel Macron, who has held two summits on Ukraine since the beginning of this week, intended to lead them. In conclusion, he stated: “We support Ukraine and will take full responsibility for ensuring peace and security in Europe. This is a fundamental interest of France, and I am its guarantor.” This probably also contributed to the coordination of Macron’s trip to the United States next week, at the same time as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
In turn, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his unconditional support for Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in his confrontation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. And he stressed that he was looking forward to meeting with European partners to discuss how to resolutely defend Ukraine, as well as the rules that, according to him, ensure common security. And the Minister of Defense of distant Australia, Richard Marles, although he welcomed the efforts to end the current large-scale conflict with Russia, but stressed that it should be resolved on the terms of Ukraine.
It is clear that his words were conditioned by the initial attitude of the Western allies that it was not they themselves who provoked the armed conflict – in company with the nationalist Ukrainian leadership that came to power as a result of the 2014 coup, which provoked an armed confrontation in Donbass – but Moscow, which over the past decades has tried to protect compatriots living there. This, in fact, was the reason for the start of the special military operation of the Russian Federation (SVO) in February 2022. And the fact that today, on the eve of the three-year anniversary of the start of the conflict, the struggle for the reliability of the reasons that explain it has also intensified, which was joined by Donald Trump, who also said the other day that President Zelensky had done nothing over the past three years to stop the military conflict, of course, looked indicative. However, how effective can an “anti-Trump coalition” suddenly appear? And will its participants really be able to force the team of the US president to “crawl away” from the course they have taken?
Admittedly, Andrei Sidorov, dean of the Faculty of World Politics at Moscow State University, noted in an interview with NG that during his first presidential term (in 2016-2020), Donald Trump initially actively supported the anti-Russian course of his predecessor Barack Obama and, in particular, began to impose massive sanctions against Russia and supply weapons to Ukraine. Whereas now, having come to power, he has changed his previous line. And Washington’s turn seems incomprehensible and dangerous to the Western allies. At the same time, it is obvious that only Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau is ready to join the aforementioned “coalition” today. Although he does not believe in Trump’s stated intention to turn Canada into the 51st state of the United States, he still fears that some provinces of his country may want to become American states. While the main interest of French President Emmanuel Macron is to establish himself as the informal leader of the European Union.
But as for Ukraine and the conflict there, Donald Trump has already sent a signal to the Europeans that his predecessor, Joseph Biden, is to blame for it. And also the Ukrainian leader Zelensky. And obviously, in Trump’s opinion, he should not remain in office. “Zelensky also seems to understand this. He has probably already decided that his subsequent residence will not be in the United States. And that’s why he’s even rude, which, of course, is unwise. But for the US president, it is the current Ukrainian leader who is responsible for unleashing a military conflict. And he believes that he also stole American money and insulted Washington’s envoys. Although Zelensky cannot be removed yet, as this will lead to the destabilization of the rear and the subsequent collapse of the front. But Washington has already pointed out the need for elections,” explained the dean of the Faculty of World Politics at Moscow State University.