Munich: Zelensky Rejects Role In Trump's Scenario

Is the circle closing?

Munich for Volodymyr Zelensky is a city where in February 2022, Western leaders anxiously discussed the upcoming Russian attack on Ukraine. At that time, at the Munich Security Conference, few people believed in this, as well as in the fact that Ukraine would stand, writes Deutsche Welle.

Three years later, the main topic of the forum was the plan to end the war with the filing of the new US President Donald Trump, who took a course for quick negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Is the circle closing?

Zelensky's 'Red Line'

According to the results of the first two days, the question — at what price peace is possible — remained without a clear answer. At the cost of abandoning the aspiration to join NATO and the territories occupied by Russia, what does Moscow insist on, and what did the new head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegset, declare on the eve of Munich? Vice President James David Vance said little on this topic, and Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, retired General Keith Kellogg, also failed to provide specifics beyond the fact that Washington wants a long and stable peace in Ukraine. But the plan is clearly not ready, and the Ukrainian leader is going to discuss it during his next meeting with the head of the White House, presumably in Washington. When it will take place is unknown.

In Munich, Zelensky made it clear that he did not agree with the role of the extras in Trump's scenario.

"Ukraine will never accept the deals concluded behind our backs and without our participation," the President of Ukraine said on February 15. The hall of the Bayrischer Hof hotel, where the conference is held, responded with applause. Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a member of the European Parliament from the German liberals, called the Ukrainian president's speech "the best" she had heard in an interview with DW. She especially liked the focus on strengthening Europe's defence capabilities, including the call for the creation of a European army against the backdrop of weakening ties with the United States.

On the eve, Zelensky said that he would negotiate with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin only after coordinating positions with the United States and the European Union. The Europeans demand a place at the future negotiating table, but the Americans are in no hurry to invite them.

The conditions for participation in negotiations with Putin are not the only "red line" Zelensky drew in the capital of Bavaria. In Munich, the President of Ukraine refused to sign a draft agreement on the access of the United States to deposits of rare minerals. According to the American press, Washington allegedly wants to gain access to half of such reserves on Ukrainian territory in exchange for continued assistance to Kyiv. Ukraine does not mind in principle, but the details will still be agreed.

Kellogg doesn't see the Europeans in the negotiations

During the current Munich Conference, for the first time, a representative of the current US administration, namely Kellogg, visited the Ukrainian Lunch organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation. This event was called in Trump's style "Your country first - win with us".

Kellogg did not speak about the victory of Ukraine, but said that he considers Trump's activities effective: "We have done more over the past 30 days [to stop the war. - Ed.] than the previous Biden administration did in three years.” Kellogg assured that Ukraine would be involved in peace negotiations, while, in his opinion, it is possible to do without the Europeans. This statement fit into the general tense atmosphere of Munich after Vice President Vance's tough speech, in which he criticized Europe for what he called limiting democracy. Europeans, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, sharply objected.

In response to a question from a DW correspondent about whether Washington will insist on presidential elections in Ukraine this year, Kellogg said that the decision on the possibility of holding them should be made by Ukraine itself. Although more recently, in an interview with Reuters published on February 1, Kellogg noted that the United States wants Ukraine to hold elections, probably before the end of the year, especially if a ceasefire agreement is reached with Russia in the coming months.

What concessions does the United States expect from Russia

The chaotic and inconsistent statements of American representatives is one of the characteristic features of the current Munich. Zelensky spoke about this with poorly concealed irritation. The President of Ukraine said that, they say, there are "different voices" in the new administration of the United States, and he is "not sure" that "all of them are on the side" of Ukraine. Zelensky did not specify who he meant.

If more and more people are talking about possible concessions to Ukraine, then what compromise Trump wants to force Russia to make is understandably less. Answering a question during the DW Conflict Zone recorded in Munich, Kellogg said that, as in the case of Ukraine, it could be "territorial concessions." In the same context, Kellogg mentioned sanctions, including against the "shadow fleet", which, according to the West, helps Moscow export oil.

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