Dr Zia Ul Haque<\/p>\n
I still believe that diplomacy never sleeps. However, what happened in the Oval Office on February 28, 2025, was undoubtedly not diplomacy. I refer to an undiplomatic and uncalled-for media exposure to a serious discussion between two heads of state.
\nAs the narrative goes, Ukrainian President Zelensky was visiting the United States to meet President Trump and sign a comprehensive deal to share the benefits of vast rare earth resources that Ukraine has with the US in return for its support during the ongoing war with Russia. Reportedly, the terms of the deal were already agreed. All President Zelenksyy was supposed to do was thank the American people and the president for the help and support it had provided during the last years of war. However, Zelenksyy asked for specific security guarantees from the US because he could not trust the Russian President Veladymer Putin.
\nOn the other hand, the US President thought that an economic deal between the US and Ukraine could serve as a reasonable security guarantee for Ukraine. Moreover, Trump opined that President Zelensky could not impose its terms because he was not winning a war against Russia and could hold his ground only due to the support of the US. Trump also believed Zelensky was not serious about the ceasefire he is trying to broker with Putin. This led to the most unfortunate part of the entire meeting, which was happening in the presence of media and was live televised worldwide.
\nAt this stage, Vice President JD Vance asked President Zelensky why he is not thankful to President Trump for trying so hard to broker a ceasefire deal. Perhaps Zelensky should not have told Vance that he was speaking louder, which would not have helped. Trump took charge and supported his deputy, who was not speaking loudly, and pointed a finger at Zelensky, saying, \u201cYou are risking a World War III, whereas you do not have enough cards and are in a very weak position.\u201d
\nThe Oval House meeting ended abruptly, and Zelensky was asked to leave the White House without signing the economic deal or the lunch that had been planned and prepared.
\nThe entire episode was unprecedented and perhaps uncalled for. An economic deal between the US and Ukraine could have ended the deadly war in which Ukraine has lost nearly 20 percent of its territory, suffered massive casualties, and destruction of infrastructure.
\nThe world leaders have reacted sharply on this unholy incident and the majority of the European leaders are supporting Zelensky and blaming Trump for pushing the Ukrainian leader for a deal without penalising or even criticising Putin for his aggression.
\nThe entire incident is reflective of evolving neo-politics, as I refer to it instead of geopolitics. Russia is on the rise, and China has already risen. Europe is fast declining, and Trump is the US trying hard to Make America Great Again (MAGA). The European leaders know that without NATO, which will be vastly weakened if the US withdraws from one of history\u2019s strongest military alliances, they will not be able to stand Russia\u2019s expansion. Yet, they are confronting Trump and supporting Zelensky to woo the US establishment to oppose Trump\u2019s moves.
\nAs we know, Trump is not a traditional politician and likes to do things that may be out of the syllabus for many European leaders who would like to ride the back of American military power. The change now is that the US is just not willing to give them a free ride, and Trump is demanding that they pay for their defense against Russia. This is undoubtedly causing stress on some European states, and therefore, in their last-ditch manoeuvre, they are trying to undermine Trump\u2019s moves to save themselves.
\nAt the moment, President Putin is an apparent winner and will probably go down in history as a great wartime leader of the 21st Century. He has effectively reduced the size of Ukraine, ensured that the country will not join NATO, and left Europe divided on the ceasefire deals. Moreover, he has brought the US on his side for the first time since the two parted ways at the end of World War II. Trump is now saying what Putin has been saying for the last so many years that Russia will not accept NATO troops on its borders.
\nIn my opinion, Zelensky did not understand American methods of diplomacy and insisted on security guarantees from the US against Russia, which probably was not on the agenda on the day of this meeting. Perhaps he thought that I was a guest here and could insist on my demands the way I do in European Capitals. However, he should have known that Trump would not act as a good host for long, and that is what he did, unfortunately.<\/p>\n
The writer of this article has authored three international books: \u201cNuclear Deterrence and Conflict Management Between India and Pakistan\u201d \u201cSouth Asia Needs Hybrid Peace\u201d and \u201cUnderstanding Sun Tzu and the Art of Hybrid War.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dr Zia Ul Haque I still believe that diplomacy never sleeps. However, what happened in the Oval Office on February 28, 2025, was undoubtedly not diplomacy. I refer to an undiplomatic and uncalled-for media exposure to a serious discussion between two heads of state. As the narrative goes, Ukrainian President Zelensky was visiting the United […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[12171],"class_list":{"0":"post-465041","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-article","7":"tag-dr-zia-ul-haque"},"yoast_head":"\n