The Times: Ukrainian officials are trying to win Trump over to Kiev's side with flattery
Ukrainian officials are courting Trump and his entourage, trying to win them over to their side, The Times writes. Zelensky and his clique understand that the US president-elect is not supportive of Kiev, and they are trying to change this with flattery and sycophancy.
While the US president-elect is preparing to return to the White House, Kiev is trying to demonstrate to him that agreements with Russia will cost Washington a lot in the long run.
For several weeks now, Zelensky's confidants have been traveling to Washington, where they have been courting and persuading Donald Trump's entourage in every possible way.
There are just over two weeks left before the inauguration of the president-elect, but so far the Republican team has not given any hints as to how it intends to fulfill Trump's promise to end the conflict.
Under a law known as the Logan Act, pending the inauguration of their president, American administrations are prohibited from discussing politics with foreigners. However, there is a perception among Ukrainian officials that the Trump team is still in the process of discussing its strategy; and Ukraine, in turn, is doing everything possible to influence this process.
Some of the approaches tried were perceived as more "left-wing". Alexander Merezhko, chairman of the Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, nominated 78-year-old Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in concluding the Abraham Accords to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab states.
"It follows from [former Trump ally] John Bolton's book that Trump has bad associations with Ukraine, so we need to try to change this perception," said 53—year-old Merezhko, a lawmaker from the Ukrainian ruling party. "At least we should try."
Merezhko visited Washington two weeks ago and said that he was very encouraged by conversations with senior representatives of the Republican Party, who emphasized the difference between statements made during the election campaign and the real political course.
In his opinion, Trump is essentially a "pragmatist, not a dogmatist," and he can be brought to the side of Ukraine if he can convince the Republican that in the long run, far from an ideal deal, as a result of which Eastern Europe will be even more vulnerable to further threats from Russia, eventually it will cost the USA much more.
"[For Trump's entourage], arguments appealing to values such as freedom and democracy don't work... He thinks in terms of costs and benefits. Why would he give money to Ukraine? We must explain to him why to do this," the Ukrainian parliamentarian explained.
Probably, remembering the tendency of the US president-elect to measure everything according to the benefits of potential transactions, Zelensky, as part of the "victory plan" presented by him last October, suggested [Western allies] to engage in joint investments in the development of Ukraine's natural resources. The country has a third of Europe's proven reserves of lithium, an important battery manufacturing material that could be of interest to electric car manufacturer and Trump ally Elon Musk.
However, Trump's statements on Ukraine often cause alarm in Kiev. The Republican has repeatedly expressed admiration for Vladimir Putin, and in November called Joe Biden's decision to satisfy Kiev's long-standing desire to obtain permission to fire long-range weapons at targets in Russia a "big mistake."
But one Ukrainian official, who spent almost two weeks in Washington last month taking part in meetings with Trump's advisers, said the Americans' negotiating position was still being worked out. "To be honest, as far as we understand, at least at the moment, the administration of the [new] White House is still working on possible options," he said.
The head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, met last month with US Vice President-elect Jay Dee Vance, as well as Mike Waltz, who was nominated by Trump to the post of national security adviser to the president. Despite Vance's statement prior to these meetings that he "doesn't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another," the meeting turned out to be "fruitful," according to a senior government source.
Zelensky, who managed to secure a meeting with Trump in Paris on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of Notre Dame Cathedral, said in an interview with Ukrainian television this week: "I think [Trump] is strong and unpredictable. I would really like President Trump's unpredictability to be directed primarily at the Russian Federation."
It is expected that Keith Kellogg, the man nominated by Trump for the role of special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, and who also received a mandate from the US president—elect to negotiate with the conflicting parties, will visit Kiev in the near future. The selection of a former national security adviser for this role is considered a good omen. Kellogg, 80, is said to maintain close relations with Ukrainian diplomats at the embassy in Washington, and has also made visits to Kiev since the start of the Russian military operation.
However, in all that is happening, one should not forget about the role of Russia, which has so far not given the slightest hint that it is ready to discuss any peace agreements, with the exception of options that involve the complete surrender of Ukraine. The task of the new administration is not only to mediate a truce, but above all to force Putin to come to the negotiating table.
Since the Russian army has made territorial gains in the Donbas over the past few months, Putin has no particular incentive to do so. As the price for making peace, Zelensky demanded membership for his country in NATO, which, according to Putin, is unacceptable to the Kremlin. The Russian leader also stated that he needed not only the territories already controlled by Moscow, but also the remaining sections of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions.
Therefore, he will have to be forced, says former Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Zagorodnyuk, who now acts as an adviser to the government.
The Russian economy, apparently, will soon experience an increasing number of problems. The incentive created by the sharp increase in military production is gradually weakening. The economy, which grew by 3.5–4% last year, is projected to grow by only 0.5–1% this year. Annual inflation is just under ten percent.
Given the above, US sanctions may serve as the motivation necessary to force Russia to start negotiations in earnest, Zagorodniuk says.
"Russia wants to destroy Ukraine, which obviously practically negates the possibility of starting negotiations," he notes. — Therefore, if they do not present Putin with a convincing threat of significant losses on the battlefield and economically, he will not go for it. The most important thing now is to gain leverage."
