Ukraine

Expert: Invited to humiliate and pressure him

Olivia Birgander

Updated 20.32 | Published 19.54

The meeting in the Oval Office between Zelenskyj and Trump derailed in front of an open curtain.

The Ukrainian president was accused of being ungrateful – and risking a third world war.

- It's a kind of mafia style from Trump, says Ukraine expert and former diplomat Fredrik Wesslau.

       

       Here Trump and Zelenskyj clash: "Disrespectful"

      1:09

Volodymyr Zelenskyj is in the US to discuss a mineral agreement between the countries. But there was a quick exchange of heated words between the leaders.

- It looks like they invited him to humiliate and pressure him. It is an astonishing move by Trump, says Fredrik Wesslau, a researcher at the Center for Austrian Studies at the Swedish Institute for International Policy.

The fact that Trump and JD Vance are doing this in front of an open curtain puts Zelensky in a difficult position.

- It could very well be a tactic from Trump. He invited Zelensky to pressure him to accept a substandard agreement that did not include security guarantees.

But according to Wesslau, the behavior that is seen is still typical of Trump, which distinguishes him from previous American presidents.

- He was like that during his campaign and during his first term. He attacks both his opponents and his allies, it is a kind of mafia style from Trump.

The meeting between Zelensky and Trump went completely off the rails. Photo: Mystyslav Chernov/AP

“Just gives Russia time to re-arm and then attack again”

At the same time, what Zelensky needs most is security guarantees. But it doesn't look like he will be able to travel home with that.

- It is clear that he is under pressure. He risks the US withdrawing its support for Ukraine. Ukraine. It looks like this is a president who equates Ukraine and Russia and ignores the fact that it was Russia that invaded Ukraine.

If there is a ceasefire without Ukraine having any security guarantees, it could mean an even worse situation for the country.

- If there are no security guarantees for Ukraine, a ceasefire will only give Russia time to re-arm and then attack again in a few years.

Trump himself believes that an agreement would mean a form of security guarantees in that there would be American investments to protect and also American personnel in the mines.

- The idea was that they would sign the agreement on natural resources today, but it doesn't seem to be happening. Now we'll see what happens.

Fredrik Wesslau. Photo: Swedish Institute of Foreign Affairs