The hug that Trump envoy Steve Witkoff offered Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of this afternoon's talks in Oslo is unlikely to have dispelled the Ukrainian leader's misgivings about the current direction of US policy towards his war-ravaged country. Zelensky posted a video of the moment on social media, with the message "Ukraine is working for peace. I thank our partners for their support!" But given everything that's happened this month, does the Ukrainian leader still regard Donald Trump as a partner?
The two men have never been close – that much is obvious – but have they now fallen out once and for all? Both in rhetoric and actions, the past ten days have seen evidence of a rupture as deep as any in their fractious relationship. Just listen to the way they talk about each other.
"Zelensky's not a good guy for us to deal with," Trump told Newsmax last week. The verbal assault has continued this week. "Zelensky doesn't know what he's talking about," Trump told a reporter on Monday when asked what he thought of the Ukrainian leader's suggestion that striking a diesel deal with Russia put the US on the wrong side of history.
Such personal attacks are typical of Trump's sledgehammer approach to diplomacy. It's hard to know when to take them seriously. In June, he lashed out at Israel's prime minister, saying Benjamin Netanyahu "has no f**king judgement".
Four months later, he endorsed Netanyahu enthusiastically, calling him a "great warrior prime minister". "Trump can always do another U-turn," says Ian Bond of the Centre for European Reform. "But this does look bad." For his part Zelensky has generally been circumspect in how he describes his unreliable but vital American counterpart.
But this month his frustration has been clear. Addressing a US congressional delegation, he spoke of "decisions on the American side that are hard to explain between friends" and voiced the fear that "some political decision has been made to slow down support for us." Answering Trump's charge that he represented the principal obstacle to a negotiated settlement, Zelensky sounded more exasperated than ever. "We have welcomed literally EVERY attempt by our partners to end this war with dignity," he wrote on Telegram on Monday.
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