In their meetings at the White House on Monday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his European allies averted another diplomatic disaster after the fiasco of Donald Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week. In Anchorage, the US president rolled over and aligned himself with Russia’s stance on ending the war. Many in Europe feared Trump would railroad Zelenskyy into a bad deal or punish him for rejecting one. Some skilfully co-ordinated messaging and plenty of flattery by the European side helped to avoid what would have been a terrible outcome for Ukraine, European security and the survival of the west.
Confident, overly so, in his ability to bring Putin to a peace deal, Trump said he would arrange a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents. It is unclear when it will take place or even whether the Kremlin will agree. In Trump’s peacemaking show, optics matter more than substance. The vague prospect of another meeting is enough to keep it moving forward.
European leaders are pleased that Trump gave them a more sympathetic hearing than they were braced for, but they did not fully wind back the clock to before Alaska. Trump has sided with Moscow over the need for a comprehensive settlement rather than a ceasefire and has dropped any hint of sanctions.