The administration of the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenskithis Wednesday effusively congratulated Donald Trump for his victory in the presidential elections to the White House and vindicated the old Republican formula of betting on a USA strong against its enemies as a formula to achieve a “just peace” in Ukraine.
“I think it is an attempt to realign with the president-elect”The professor of International Relations at Mechnikov University in Odessa told EFE. Volodímir Dubovikwho specializes in American politics, about the Ukrainian president’s attempt to ingratiate himself with the new leader of his main military supporter.
Both Zelensky and his right-hand man and head of his office, Andrí Yermakused the expression “peace through strength” as a recipe for ending the war in the congratulatory messages they sent to a Trump who has until now been reluctant to continue sending weapons to Ukraine.
“It is a slogan from the Reagan era that is more characteristic of the old Republican Party than the one led by Trump today, but it is important to clearly express Ukraine’s hopes in this electoral result and to convey them to the presidential team that will come”stressed the professor, who has doubts that the strategy works.
Trump attributes the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the alleged weakness of the international policy of the president’s Democratic administration Joe Biden. His running mate, J.D. Vancehas shown great rejection of the Ukrainian cause. “Honestly, I don’t care what happens to Ukraine one way or another,” he said in 2022.
At the same time, the New York tycoon-turned-politician has avoided taking a pro-Ukraine position and has criticized the aid Washington is sending to kyiv. Trump also advocates an immediate negotiated end to the war that would force it to cede territories to Ukraine, which fears that the Republican’s second presidency will mean the end of US military assistance.
Quick decisions
The speed with which Trump wants to find a way out of the conflict is also a cause for optimism among some Ukrainian experts.
“The new Trump administration will be more willing to make quick decisions on Ukraine, and this may bring good news both for people who demand more weapons for kyiv and for those who want immediate peace”the president of the Ukrainian Center for Transatlantic Dialogue, told EFE from Washington, where he has been forging contacts between Ukraine and Trump’s entourage for months. Maxim Skripchenko.
The expert believes that the situation with the outgoing Democratic administration has reached a “blockade” as Ukraine has not received permission to attack military targets inside Russia with US weapons, as kyiv has been asking for months, and he trusts in the changing of the guard in the White House to bring “new positive changes” for Ukrainians, who are suffering the wear and tear of almost three years of war.
Long term effects
In addition to privileging the notion of a strong US, over another type of rhetoric more typical of Democrats focused on democracy and international legality, the official Ukrainian reaction to Trump’s victory emphasizes the results that bilateral relations should achieve. to both parties, in line with the foreign action guided by self-interest proposed by the Republican leader.
In this sense, Zelensky was interested in “developing political and economic cooperation that benefits both nations.”
Skripchenko, the president of the Center for Ukrainian Transatlantic Dialogue, recalls that the outgoing administration made a large investment in Ukraine, and hopes that the Republican president-elect will be interested in “protecting” it to reap the rewards.
Another priority in Trump’s speech is to reduce Europe’s continued dependence on the US in terms of security so that Washington can focus on challenges such as the rise of China.
In his congratulations, Zelensky referred to his country as “one of the main military powers in Europe” and stressed that a strong Ukraine can be, in the long term, a guarantee for peace and security in Europe and in space. transatlantic.
This idea is already included in the call Peace Plan of Zelensky, who in one of his points proposes that Ukrainian troops hardened in the war with Russia replace the American soldiers who are still deployed in the Old Continent after the conflict.
In his message to Trump, Zelensky also underlines his desire to reach out to the person who will direct in a few weeks the destinies of the most important military partner of a Ukraine that desperately needs its weapons to continue resisting Russian aggression.
Despite the obvious coldness of that meeting, Zelensky highlights “the great meeting” he had with Trump last September in New York. Zelensky also foresees a “strong United States under the determination of Trump’s leadership” and expresses his desire to meet the Republican leader again. EFE (I)
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