BBC Expert Explains Significance Of Trump-Zelenskyy Meeting

The latest meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump will be key to understanding how much “Russia’s gaslighting” has impacted the US administration, according to a BBC expert.

The Ukrainian president is flying to Florida to meet his American counterpart this weekend for ongoing talks to resolve the Ukraine war.

Zelenskyy has said he wants to focus on a peace plan brokered by the States and on separate proposals for US security guarantees.

It comes after Europe tried to water down Trump’s initial 28-point plan – which was leaked in November – over fears it was too pro-Russia.

Vladimir Putin then rejected their counterproposals, pushing negotiations into deadlock once again.

But the BBC’s world affairs editor John Simpson said Zelenskyy’s fresh attempts for talks with Trump this weekend are “important”.

In a social media post, Simpson said: “Pres Zelenskyy will present his counter-proposals for peace to Pres Trump in Florida – terms carefully calibrated with the UK, Germany & France to ensure maximum future security for Ukraine & at least the possibility of acceptance by Russia.

“We’ll see if Russia’s gaslighting of Trump’s wholly inadequate negotiator Steve Witkoff will have worn off sufficiently for Trump to be open to an agreement which will genuinely make it impossible for Vladimir Putin to come back for more Ukrainian territory whenever it suits him.

“That really would be a peace agreement to celebrate. Or will it be Donald Trump’s Munich moment?”

Witkoff, Trump’s special Ukraine envoy, flew to meet Putin earlier this month but came back with no compromises on Russia’s hardline stance – despite insisting the country is “fully committed” to achieving peace in Ukraine.

Specialists told HuffPost UK that the White House’s decision to send him to Russia is comparable to sending a “lamb to the slaughter”.

The US has repeatedly allegedly that Russia is interested in peace – despite being the ones who initiated the war by invading Ukraine in February 2022 in a land grab.

Russia further humiliated Trump last night after bombarding Ukraine with drones on the eve of the talks, leaving a third of the capital Kyiv without power or heating.

As Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram: “Where is the Russian response to the proposals to end the war, which were made by the United States and the world? Russian representatives hold long talks. In reality, the ‘Kinzhal’ and ‘Shaheds’ [drones] speak for them.”

Meanwhile, Trump seemed pessimistic on Friday night, telling POLITICO that Zelenskyy “doesn’t have anything until I approve of it, so we’ll see what he’s got”.