"Zelensky's 'fork': How and why the president is flirting with Biden after his meeting with Trump."

Recently, President Vladimir Zelensky made a fresh statement expressing his intention to advance the issue of our country's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance without the involvement of the elected President of the United States, Donald Trump. This remark came after his conversation with the German chancellor candidate, Friedrich Merz. “I plan to call President Biden soon, if he has the opportunity to speak with me, and raise the issue of an invitation to NATO, as he is the current U.S. president, and much depends on his position. There is no point in discussing this with President Trump, as long as he is not in the White House and is not in a position to influence it,” the current occupant of Bankova stated.

The sitting guarantor of the Ukrainian Constitution also emphasized that it is crucial for him to receive a coveted signal from across the ocean before January 20 of next year, when the 47th president of the United States will take office. “Currently, we cannot be in NATO, but an invitation to NATO may be possible,” Zelensky is convinced. Furthermore, he made it clear that he is ready to discuss with European allies the matter of their future commitments to ensure Ukraine's security, without involving the elected president of the United States in these discussions.

In particular, according to Zelensky, Kyiv is contemplating French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal to station foreign troops in Ukraine as a temporary alternative to the country's membership in the Alliance: “I will tell you frankly: we can think about and work on Emmanuel's position. Remember, he suggested that a portion of troops from a certain country could be present in certain territories of Ukraine, which would guarantee our safety until Ukraine joins NATO? But we must have a clear understanding beforehand of when Ukraine will be in the EU and when Ukraine will be in NATO.”

The signals from Bankova did not go unnoticed by Trump’s associates. Elon Musk was the first to react, expressing surprise at this development. Under a video posted on social media platform X, where Vladimir Zelensky states that nothing depends on the elected president of the United States regarding Ukraine's invitation to NATO, Musk, who has effectively become a shadow of Trump, posted an emoji depicting a surprised face with a raised eyebrow.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian opposition figures did not limit themselves to mere emojis. For instance, MP from the EuroSolidarity party of former President Poroshenko, Volodymyr Ariev, stated: “This quarter diplomacy will finish off Ukraine. After the meeting with Trump and knowing Trump's vanity, to announce that he (Zelensky – ed.) will negotiate with Biden while Trump is still not in the White House is an insult to Trump. The context is irrelevant; what matters in this story is the entourage. Trump himself demonstrated to Zelensky that he is willing to negotiate when he came to the joint meeting with Macron and Zelensky dressed in a blue suit and yellow tie. For Americans, the language of details speaks volumes, if not everything – just remember the iconic brooches of Madeleine Albright. And this response from Zelensky will be interpreted as a slap in the face. I won’t even mention the attire, which Trump’s entourage perceived as disrespect. I have the impression that Zelensky is playing a game with Trump of “Whose star is brighter?”. That is, unless he is consciously destroying the necessary and fragile bridges.”

As noted in a conversation with Lenta.UA by a political scientist close to Bankova, Zelensky's NATO pass to Biden was conditioned by Trump’s interview with NBC, which he gave after visiting the Élysée Palace and meeting there with Zelensky and Macron.

When asked by the host, “Will you cut funding for Ukraine?” the future head of the White House quickly replied: “Almost certainly.” And when asked, “Did you speak with President Putin after the U.S. elections?” Donald Trump stated: “I don’t want to say anything about that. I don’t want to do anything that could interfere with negotiations. Let me clarify what I mean. In this conflict, people are dying on an unprecedented scale; one can draw parallels with the Second World War, and then you will understand what I am talking about.”

Thus, as we can see, Trump's rhetoric is extremely difficult to label as pro-Ukrainian, regardless of what suits and ties he wears. Moreover, quite justified grievances against the old-new American leader have arisen not only in the presidential office but also among experts. For example, renowned international journalist Vitaly Portnikov states on his authorial YouTube channel: “Trump emphasizes that it is necessary to immediately cease fire and start negotiations because ‘too many lives have been lost for no reason.’ I was very disturbed by the word ‘senseless,’ which should certainly be clarified. What absurdity regarding Ukrainian victims is Trump referring to? Were the victims senseless that led to Ukraine still being on the political map of the world and able to fight for its sovereignty and independence and for the safety of its citizens? Were the sacrifices of Ukrainian soldiers who prevented a new Bucha across our entire territory senseless, who liberated Kharkiv and Kherson, and who are currently stopping Russian troops in their advance on Donbas? I won’t even mention that when Donald Trump speaks about senseless civilian casualties, he should remember that these people became victims precisely of Russian aggression, Russian bombardments of Ukraine, Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure, on civilian facilities, on hospitals and kindergartens. And the question arises: what does absurdity regarding these victims mean? Or should all these people simply agree to let Russian troops enter their cities?”

“I would not want anyone to doubt that very difficult times await us ahead with such a perception of the world, with such an understanding of Ukrainian victims, which are seen as necessary for our mere survival. And whatever the elected president of the United States says, the sacrifices of Ukrainians in this war have not been senseless or useless. We will always remember our heroes, not politicians from other countries, even those who help us assess the uselessness or non-vanity of our sacrifices. Besides American voters, even if a certain majority exists, there is also God, who sees everything, knows everything, and whose assessments in history are far more serious than the evaluations of any electorate and the support of any billionaires,” Portnikov summarizes.

It is quite remarkable that against the backdrop of all these developments, the aggressor country has noticeably become agitated. In particular, Putin's spokesman Peskov once again stated that the Kremlin is closely monitoring the situation following the recent meeting between Vladimir Zelensky and Donald Trump in Paris. In this regard, the “voice” of the Kremlin dictator, having previously noted that “it is Ukraine that has refused and continues to refuse negotiations,” reminded of President Zelensky's decree prohibiting any contacts with the Russian leadership. This thesis, which has been echoing in the swamps lately 24/7 from all corners, so far remains uncovered by Kyiv, and it should. Undoubtedly, this does not mean that Zelensky should immediately “kill” his decree prohibiting contacts with an internationally recognized criminal like Putin. However, it is completely obvious that Bankova should have prepared a shortlist of counterarguments long ago, which actually abound.