The snapshot went around the world, sparking the curiosity of observers and commentators: in the setting of St. Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican City State, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, both busy attending the funeral of the Pontiff, had the opportunity to engage in a brief dialectical exchange, a comparison, an interaction if we wanted to call it that.
It does not seem to be possible to know the terms of that confrontation, but to most it seemed a sign of openness. The same interlocutors would later be joined, for a few moments, also by Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
On the occasion of the funeral of the Supreme Pontiff, Donald Trump also had a quick exchange with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, with whom he reportedly agreed to a meeting in the near future.
Interpreting the attitude of the President of the United States of America does not appear to be a simple exercise, both because of the solemn circumstance that gave rise to it, and because of the unpredictability that has always characterized the Tycoon's actions. If one wanted to remove it from the context, and place it in the contingent, one should perhaps consider that, differently from the expectations and convictions revealed at the time of his re-inauguration at the White House, the negotiation process, indeed very articulated and complex, between Russia and the United States would seem to continue to proceed at a rather slow pace. Nor would there probably be much to be surprised about.
If one were to try to offer a simple argument, based on empirical observation of events, one might be led to conclude that if Vladimir Putin could be seriously intent on maximizing his advantage on the field, in order to obtain as much as possible at the time of negotiations, in the same way, Donald Trump, who would appear to be weakened "at home" (the dubious formula is necessary) by his own policies, in wanting to threaten, ultimately, sanctions and trade tariffs against Russia would intend to induce it to give in.
But, then, probably (the doubtful formula is still necessary), we could find ourselves facing the proverbial dead end, since the American President would certainly intend to follow up on his electoral promises and put an end to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, but not the same, at the current state of the art, would seem to be what the Russian President wants to do, at least in the very short term, in the absence of significant confirmations on his objectives. In short, everything still seems to be in flux. Even more so when, on the one hand, Donald Trump, according to what has been disclosed by the press, has welcomed in a positive manner the results of the meeting in Moscow between Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin, even representing that the potential agreement between the two contending parties is close since Russia is ready to talk to Ukraine "without preconditions", and then, on the other hand, has wanted to claim that Vladimir Putin is "taking the mickey out of him".
It was known that the mutual positions were divergent, and finding a three-way solution (Washington-Moscow-Kiev) would not seem like a small matter. To put it differently: Washington, according to what has been understood over the course of time since the inauguration of the forty-seventh President, would seem to want an agreement that includes, among other things, the exploitation of Ukrainian mineral resources and that, all things considered, would constitute a guarantee of protection for the country, in addition to Ukraine's renunciation of membership in NATO; Moscow would be ready to silence the weapons for the start of peace talks, if there are reassurances on Ukraine's neutrality, on a potential and contextual change of regime in Ukraine itself, and there are also reassurances on the so-called demilitarization of the army of the same country, and on the transfer to Russia of all the territories illegally annexed; Kiev, on the other hand, would like Crimea to remain Ukrainian, as well as the peninsula on the Black Sea, and does not appear, among other things, inclined to accept any limit to its military capacity.
The dividing line would appear to be represented by the time factor, the passing of which could have different repercussions for the three parts considered separately.
And the passage of time will always offer, revealing it, the exact "reading" of that bilateral between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. But, net of the hypotheses, what would be, in perspective, the pacifying offer of Western Europe?
Giuseppina Di Salvatore – Lawyer, Nuoro
