It is agonising for Ukraine to watch US president Donald Trump trying to drive it towards some sort of peace deal with Russia, so even the mere avoidance of a horrible smash-up on yet another blind bend feels like a small but precious victory.
The nightmare scenario for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s return to Washington on Monday was a repeat of his White House car crash back in February, when a public row with Trump threatened to send US-Ukraine relations off a precipice.
Instead, there were smiles and jokes and a sense that, at least for now, Trump accepted that Kyiv and other European capitals must have a big say in how the Ukraine-Russia war might end – contrary to the efforts of Russian president Vladimir Putin, who had enjoyed his own win when dominating Trump during their summit in Alaska.
That meeting last Friday ended with Trump dropping threats of more sanctions on Russia, accepting the Kremlin’s rejection of a ceasefire and backing its demand for swathes of Ukrainian territory, and with Putin telling “Kyiv and European capitals to see this constructively and to not throw a spanner in the works ... to torpedo the nascent progress.”
RM Block
On Monday, however, Europe was back in the room and determined to shape the discussion and be fully involved in questions of Ukraine’s long-term security.
The peril of the moment presented by the Alaska summit was reflected in a swift decision by the leaders of Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Finland to join Mr Zelenskiy in Washington, along with top officials from the European Union and Nato.
Trump could have bristled at any suggestion that Europe was flying in mobhanded to save Zelenskiy from another mauling in the Oval Office, or to put him straight on which country actually started the war, has committed mass atrocities and so on.
In the event, Trump seemed well-disposed towards all his European visitors, and even appeared to welcome their push to play a key role in resolving Europe’s biggest war since 1945, and in trying to ensure that Russia would not invade Ukraine again.
It was almost as if Trump might be relieved – having seen Putin’s intransigence in-person just a few days before – to have some help in trying to craft a peace deal, as well as having a few more potential fall guys to take the flak if the whole thing failed.
Zelenskiy and the Europeans won some important assurances from Trump – though they know breakthroughs can be brief with the mercurial US leader.
Trump confirmed that the US was willing play a role in the provision of postwar security guarantees to Ukraine, albeit in a “co-ordination” role to “help out” European states that would be “a first line of defence, because they’re there.”
[ Lara Marlowe in Ukraine: Scepticism grows amid push for peaceOpens in new window ]
This US support for a European-led post war security effort is potentially crucial, given previous discussions between EU states about the possible deployment of a peacekeeping force to postwar Ukraine – and Russia’s outright rejection, repeated on Monday as talks in Washington began, of any such role for western troops.
Zelenskiy said he and Trump had agreed to “leave the issue of territories to me and Putin,” and the US leader said any decision to relinquish land “can only be made by president Zelenskiy and by the people of Ukraine, working also in agreement with president Putin.”
Talks on security guarantees will begin immediately, and a Putin-Zelenskiy summit could come within a fortnight, said German chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Trump is still driving this rollercoaster peace bid – and the journey is still nerve-racking – but Ukraine and its European allies have at least managed to give the steering wheel a nudge to avert immediate disaster.
