Ukraine fears ‘repetition of a contentious’ encounter in Oval Office (Picture credit: AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, with European leaders also joining the talks. As per the Washington Post, the meeting comes amid warnings that it could mirror the “disastrous” Oval Office clash earlier this year that saw relations between Kyiv and Washington plunge.During his last visit to the White House in February, Zelenskyy’s discussions with Trump and Vice President JD Vance ended abruptly after a bitter row. Trump accused him of showing disrespect and of “gambling with World War III.” The joint press conference was cancelled, Zelenskyy was ushered out, and US military aid was briefly frozen. US media described the encounter as “disastrous” and a major diplomatic blow for Ukraine.As per the Washington Post, “Foremost in Ukrainians’ minds is avoiding a repetition of a contentious meeting in the Oval Office”.Nikolay Beleskov, a research fellow at the Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Studies, was quoted as saying by the Washington Post that there was “such risk indeed” of another tense exchange.He said Zelenskyy must “strike a balance between being non-provocative” while still advancing his demands in Washington.The stakes are particularly high as Trump has just held his first in-person talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the Ukraine war escalated in 2022. The Anchorage summit on Friday was labelled “warm” by Trump and “frank” and “substantive” by Putin, according to RT.Following the meeting, Trump suggested that Washington and Moscow were “pretty close to the end” of the conflict and is reportedly considering a plan that would require Kyiv to surrender remaining parts of Donbass in return for a Russian halt in fighting elsewhere, as per RT. Zelenskyy, however, has repeatedly ruled out making territorial concessions.Moscow continues to demand neutrality, demilitarisation and “denazification” of Ukraine, along with recognition of the territories it annexed, Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye. Putin had also said the Alaska talks brought the US and Russia “closer” to ending hostilities.The February clash between Trump and Zelenskyy also saw Vance publicly accuse the Ukrainian leader of being “disrespectful” and ungrateful for billions in American aid. The meeting ended without the signing of a minerals agreement that had been central to Zelenskyy’s trip, and Washington temporarily cut off military and intelligence assistance afterwards.Since then, both sides have attempted to repair relations. Trump and Zelenskyy held follow-up meetings in the Vatican in April and at the Nato summit in June, where a minerals deal was eventually signed. Now, with Trump signalling he may provide security guarantees to Ukraine, European leaders, among them UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, will attend Monday’s discussions to shape the framework for peace talks.As per CNN, JD Vance, a key figure in February’s confrontation, will also be present during the Oval Office meeting.
