Donald Trump's America opposes the designation of Russia as an "aggressor" country in a G7 statement and a draft UN resolution on the third anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
This comes as US envoy for the Russian-Ukrainian conflict Keith Kellogg cancels his press conference in Kiev and US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz calls on Volodymyr Zelensky to tone down his criticism of the commander in chief. And instead to sign the agreement with Washington for the exploitation of rare earths.
It is a complete U-turn by the Trump administration towards Ukraine, perhaps the most sensational reversal of front since the post-war period. The American president himself has doubled down on the attacks on Zelensky by repeating the insults and threats on social media in front of the cheering audience of the Future Investment Initiative in Miami, a conference of global financial figures supported by the sovereign fund of Saudi Arabia, the same country that hosted the first talks between Americans and Russians for peace in Ukraine.
The tycoon once again accused Zelensky of being a “comedian of modest success” and an “unelected dictator” who “refuses to hold elections” and who should “move quickly if he does not want to lose the territories he has left” because “the war is going in the wrong direction”. Then, aboard Air Force One, he warned that it is the Russians who “hold the cards because they have conquered a lot of territory” . And he was indignant at the “rude” way in which Zelensky treated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, not receiving him and not signing the agreement on rare earths.
An agreement that he said he wanted to revive, perhaps - according to Reuters - in a more simplified version and in any case before potentially authorizing greater military support for Kiev or continuing peace talks. But tensions between the two leaders skyrocketed after Trump aligned himself with the Russian narrative by calling Zelensky a dictator. So much so that Kellogg preferred to cancel the planned joint press conference with the Ukrainian president after their meeting, while Waltz urged him to "tone down" and sign the agreement on mineral resources.
At the end of the face-to-face meeting with Kellogg, which he described as "productive," Zelensky extended his hand again: "Ukraine is ready for a strong and effective investment and security agreement with the President of the United States. We have proposed the fastest and most constructive way to achieve results. Our team is ready to work 24/7," he wrote on X, saying he was grateful to the United States "for all the bipartisan assistance and support" to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
Meanwhile, Washington, in view of the third anniversary of the war, is trying to soften the language used so far by the G7 and the UN, avoiding calling Moscow an "aggressor". There is also no support for the draft UN resolution which also reiterates support for Ukrainian territorial integrity.
Bessent instead said that on the table of negotiations for a peace agreement there could be an easing of sanctions against Russia, stressing that the United States is ready to increase or reduce measures based on Moscow's willingness to negotiate. However, Washington will also have to involve old Europe, if only for the European sanctions already in force and those to come.
A glimmer of dialogue between the two sides of the Atlantic is kept open by the upcoming visits to the White House of French President Emmanuel Macron (Monday) and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (Thursday) , leaders of the two countries most active in defending Kiev and the only ones with a nuclear shield and a seat on the UN Security Council. Macron will arrive on the same day that the EU leaders (and the Spanish Prime Minister) will fly to Kiev to support "heroic" Ukraine on the third anniversary of the conflict.
(Online Union)
