Talks marred by high tension between Trump and Zelensky

Ukraine's pro-Western leaders turned their backs on Russia after the events of 2014 and installed a pro-Western government in Ukraine with the protection and full support of Western countries, especially the United States and Europe; and they wanted the country to join the Western Military Alliance (NATO) and the European Union (EU) and cut ties with Russia.

These actions ultimately led to a bloody and destructive war from late February 2022 until now. Now, all of Ukraine's hopes and dreams of joining the Western camp have been shattered by the tense talks between Trump and Zelensky, the Presidents of the United States and Ukraine, in Washington last Friday.

The historic meeting between US President Donald Trump, his Vice President DJ Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, February 28, at the White House turned into a heated argument between the two sides in front of the world's media cameras, where Trump and his vice president openly humiliated their guest, while Trump repeatedly shouted at Zelensky in front of reporters at the White House. It will be recalled that Zelensky traveled to Washington with the aim of signing a contract to hand over a rare earth mine in Ukraine to Washington. 

The situation became more volatile after the Ukrainian President responded to the statements of US Vice President JD Vance, who was present at the talks, when he said that the path to peace was through diplomacy with Russia. Vance said: "Ukraine is facing serious problems in the war." Addressing Zelensky, DJ Vance said: "You should thank the President for his efforts to resolve the conflict."

Zelensky said that the United States is also facing its own problems, and that he had heard these words from Putin, but Trump immediately cut off his words. Trump shouted at Zelensky and told him: "You are in a bad position and you have no trump card. You are gambling with the lives of millions of people. You are gambling with World War III and what you are doing is a great insult to the United States. You should be grateful."

The US president called Zelensky's remarks "disrespectful" and threatened him, saying: "If it weren't for our weapons, this war would be over very quickly. You have to agree or we will not intervene anymore. You don't have the power, you can't tell us whether you want to cease fighting or not." 

Following a heated exchange of words between US President Donald Trump, his vice president DJ Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in front of various international media outlets, Trump expelled Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation from the White House in Washington.

The Ukrainians have complained about the move and have asked for talks to continue. However, the request has been denied. Zelensky left the White House shortly after the request. 

Meanwhile, the White House asked Volodymyr Zelensky to apologize to Donald Trump, but he refused to do so in an interview with Fox News, a media outlet affiliated with the Republican Party, and only thanked Trump and the American people.

The controversial talks have been met with mixed reactions in the United States and internationally. Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from the United States, has criticized the Ukrainian President, saying: Zelensky should apologize, otherwise Ukraine should send someone else or bear responsibility for this action.

On the other hand, Democratic Senator Jack Reed has criticized Trump and his administration, saying: Trump and his vice president D. Vance are telling the world that America is not a country to be trusted. 

European leaders have declared their support for Ukraine after the tense and highly contentious talks between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In contrast, Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian President and Deputy Head of the country's Security Council, said: The slap that Trump and D. Vance have given Zelensky is appropriate but not enough. 

We can say that, considering Trump's past positions, whether during his presidential election campaigns last year or after and when he entered the White House in the second round of his presidency, it was predicted that he wanted to impose his wishes on Zelensky, and accept the current situation and hand over the occupied territory of Ukraine to Russia, that is, hand over almost 20 percent of the country's land, and also agree to sign the agreement proposed by Trump to give the United States a rare earth mine worth at least 500 billion dollars in return for what Washington claims is a guarantee of Ukraine's security.

But what was not expected in the meeting was Zelensky's confrontation with Trump on the one hand, and the manifestation of America's arrogance and superiority following the humiliating and humiliating remarks by Trump and his vice president, Vance, against Zelensky Zelensky, again in front of the cameras of the American and international media. With this behavior, Trump has shown that the American act of considering itself superior and above other countries is a common trait of that country's leaders who do not respect other countries or their leaders.

On the other hand, Ukraine's experience and its blind adherence to the promises of Western countries, especially the United States, and its move to plunge into war with Russia while insisting on membership in NATO despite Russia's warnings, which ultimately led to the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, shows that relying on the United States and its aid can ultimately lead to negative and destructive consequences for various countries.

Especially considering that Trump, by claiming that the United States must own Ukraine's valuable minerals and that Kyiv should pay at least $500 billion in aid in return for the alleged $350 billion that Washington claims to provide to Kyiv, shows that the United States, despite the grandiose slogans and slogans it gives as slogans of fighting for freedom, justice and democracy for various countries, is clearly pursuing its own interests, especially economic interests.

In this context, we should say that the highly tense talks between Trump and Zelensky are tantamount to ending the vision and dream of achieving peace, freedom, democracy and economic prosperity through dependence on Western countries, especially the United States.