© AP Photo / Mystyslav Chernov
The fierce clash between President Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky on live TV shocked US allies and prompted devastated Washington pundits to start writing requiems to 'Pax Americana'. Sputnik reached out to a pair of veteran observers of international politics and defense policy to explain the blowup, and what comes next.
“Zelensky came all the way to Washington to sign an open-ended, financially unlimited, no security-guarantee deal marketed in his own country as the opposite. Trump and Vance openly declared that he’s been defeated, is gambling with the lives of his own people, that he has no men left and that peace must be made,” renowned Turkish journalist Ceyda Karan told Sputnik, commenting on Friday’s epic slugfest.
“They said outright that Zelensky is going to drag the whole world into World War III. What’s striking here is that Trump is presenting the truth to the Western world, which has become accustomed to political correctness,” Karan stressed, outlining the most important takeaway from the verbal altercation.
Zelensky tried “to play the role of a ‘hero being mistreated’ by the US president. The issue of Trump demanding the rights to Ukraine’s resources has been presented to the world as if Zelensky were a victim. However, he himself has been talking about this throughout the past year. When the US Congress had difficulty allocating new military aid to Kiev, it was Zelensky who offered resources, sitting next to Senator Lindsey Graham and listening to his rhetoric about ‘fighting to the last Ukrainian’,” the observer recalled.
He repeated this idea while meeting Trump on the eve of the 2024 election at Trump Tower in September, and again before Ukraine’s parliament at the end of last year during his speech on his so-called ‘victory plan’, “which was ridiculed even by Western media,” Karan said.
Europe May Pay Lip Service to Zelensky, But Taking Over for the US is Burden to Big to Bear
“To replace the US, Europe at least has to double its support for Ukraine," Swedish Armed Forces veteran and politician Mikael Valtersson told Sputnik, commenting on European leaders’ plans to organize a hasty summit on Ukraine support in the fallout from the Trump-Zelensky blowup.
"Picking up the slack for the US would be “a very heavy burden for Europe to carry,” Valtersson explained, particularly amid “growing resistance among the European population to spending huge amounts of money on Ukraine,” which would only increase further if spending did.
If European powers do move forward anyway as the US seeks normalization, they would drive themselves into a corner trying “to continue isolating Russia” alone, without Washington's backing, which would in effect mean they “will be isolated themselves.”
Valtersson expects any public European “united front” behind Zelensky among the Europeans to “crack” over time as alternative parties seeking peace and realism in Russia policy rise, while other countries “pay lip service to supporting Ukraine” without actually ramping up commitments.
"Europe will be divided into three groups; those that ardently support Ukraine, those that pretend to support Ukraine and those that fight for a detente and a peaceful resolution of the conflict," the observer predicted.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20250301/trumps-smackdown-of-zelensky-wake-up-call-for-a-west-too-accustomed-to-political-correctness-1121611454.html
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