A Disaster for Ukraine and a Triumph for Putin: How the World Media Evaluated the Trump-Zelensky Talks
28 February 22:07
The agreement on minerals and mineral resources between Ukraine and the United States failed to be signed. After a fierce dispute with US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy left the White House early.
[Kommersant has gathered reactions of the world media to the failure to sign an important document between the two countries.
Sky News notes that the disagreement between the two presidents looked devastating in terms of how this important day was supposed to go for both countries.
“We were standing in line, ready to go into the room for the signing ceremony. The tables were there, the pens were on the tables. Everything was ready for the signing of the agreement, which was to be followed by a press conference. But after the scene that played out a few minutes ago, it seems that everything has fallen apart,” wrote correspondent Mark Stone.
In turn, Deborah Haynes, a security and defense editor at the media outlet, noted that the public conflict between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a disaster for Ukraine and its European allies and a triumph for Russia.
“American support for Ukraine is crucial if Kyiv is to stand up to Russia in the war. Britain, France and other European allies of Ukraine have been working overtime to keep Trump on their side. If Trump were to withdraw his military support for Ukraine in anger, Kyiv’s ability to stand up to the Russian army would be severely diminished. Europeans lack the capacity to fill the void. The only one who wins in this scenario is Vladimir Putin,” Haynes wrote.
Reuters writes that Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit was intended to help Ukraine convince the United States not to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered the invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
“Instead, the Ukrainian leader sharply disagreed with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance on the conflict, emphasizing that the change of administration in Washington has undermined Kyiv’s attempts to maintain Western support for its military efforts. The clash also undermines recent efforts by European leaders to persuade Trump to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, even though he has refused to deploy U.S. soldiers on Ukrainian soil.Such guarantees are considered crucial to deterring Russia from future aggression,” the media outlet notes.
The publication writes that the “Washington talks” were previously seen as a diplomatic boost for Zelenskyy, who has repeatedly spoken about the importance of a personal meeting with Trump before the US president holds talks with Putin. Official Kyiv hoped that the deal would encourage Trump to support Ukraine’s military efforts and perhaps even enlist the support of Republicans in Congress for a new aid package.
In turn, the New York Post writes that Trump has been trying for weeks to get the Ukrainian leader to sign the agreement, even sending Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Kyiv to make the ratification happen.
But instead, Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the initial agreement. After that, the two countries were able to reach agreement on a revised draft, and the Ukrainian leader came to Washington, ostensibly to sign the final copy.
“Instead, the document was not signed, and Trump wanted Zelenskyy to leave after his shouting match,” the media outlet writes.
The Times also paid attention to the disruption of negotiations between the US and Ukraine.
“It was the worst diplomatic display ever seen by a foreign leader invited to the sanctuary of the US president. There was a war of words for ten minutes. It was caused by Trump positioning himself as a broker standing in the middle between Russia and Ukraine, instead of standing firmly in the Ukrainian camp like the Europeans,” British journalist David Charter wrote in an article for the newspaper.
The Associated Press also believes that the breakdown of talks between the United States and Ukraine occurred at a key and dangerous moment for official Kyiv. As Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought security guarantees from the United States, and Donald Trump’s administration sought to agree on an end to the Russian-Ukrainian war.
