Zelensky's Bow To Trump Tries To Turn Tables On Putin

2025-03-21 02:02:18

(MENAFN- Asia Times) After Donald Trump's “very good and productive” phone call with Vladimir Putin earlier this week, all eyes were on his subsequent call with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Would it, as it did when they last met in the flesh on February 28 at the White House, descend into disastrous acrimony? Or would Zelensky manage to engage with the US president in a cooperative way that encourages him to see Ukraine and its leader in a more favorable light?

The latter, it seems. In a post on his Truth Social site , Trump referred to their“very good telephone call”, which got the two leaders“very much on track.” Zelensky, for his part, talked of a “very good” and“frank” phone call and seemed to agree with everything the US president had to say, taking pains to emphasize and praise Trump and America's leadership.

With his vocal support of Trump's proposal for peace, Zelensky has put the attention back on Putin. He clearly wants to appear to be the more reasonable negotiating partner by going along with the US president's proposals.

In spite of Zelensky's misgivings about how trustworthy Putin is , he has agreed to a limited ceasefire with Russia on energy infrastructure (while stressing that, unlike Putin, he agrees with Trump's aim for a complete ceasefire).

Zelensky clearly knows that Russia has a great deal to gain from a pause on attacks on energy grids and oil refineries, given Ukraine's increasing capacity to use long-range drone attacks. And a maritime ceasefire, if agreed, would also favor Russia .

But by publicly voicing Ukraine's support for Trump's plan for a ceasefire, Zelensky has exposed Putin's disinterest in stopping hostilities.

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