Zelensky's puddle and Trump's "bathtub": what's happening with the peace settlement efforts?

The repeat vote on Tuesday in the building under the glass dome on Hrushevsky for resolution No. 13039 "On Supporting Democracy," which among other things states that President Zelensky must continue to fulfill his duties until the new head of state takes office, allowed the "servants" to achieve their goal. A total of 268 MPs voted in favor of the resolution out of 280 present in the session hall, while only 12 abstained. These figures starkly contrast with the results of the vote the day before, when only 218 parliamentarians supported the same resolution, falling short of the required minimum of 226 votes.

As is known, Vladimir Zelensky's term ended on May 20, 2024, however, the elections were legally and understandably canceled, citing martial law and general mobilization. And despite the fact that neither our compatriots nor foreign allies (with the exception of Trump, who is clearly echoing the Kremlin's narrative) raised the issue of the legitimacy of the current leader of Bankova, Zelensky, by bringing the aforementioned resolution before the parliamentary body of the Verkhovna Rada, aimed to add legitimacy to his mandate. Given the invitation to the Rada session on Monday for representatives of the European Commission and diplomats from European countries accredited in Kyiv, the vote was conceived as a response to criticism of Vladimir Zelensky from the U.S. president (and in fact, the "servants" left Zelensky in a difficult position, failing to achieve the desired result on the scoreboard).

Recall that just on February 18, the current occupant of the Oval Office stated that Zelensky's approval rating had fallen to 4% and that Ukraine needed to hold elections if it wanted a seat at the negotiating table for a peaceful resolution. The next day, the main Republican even labeled Zelensky a "dictator" for refusing to hold elections, again pointing to his extremely low ratings. The current guarantor of the Ukrainian Constitution strongly disagreed with Trump's assessment and refuted his words, citing data from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), which indicated that at the beginning of February, 57% of our compatriots trusted the president of Ukraine. According to EU MP Irina Gerashchenko from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, after Trump's criticism, local authorities were instructed to adopt resolutions and write letters in support of Zelensky.

Nevertheless, despite the recent approval of the resolution "On Supporting Democracy" on the second attempt, criticism of Zelensky within the walls of the sole legislative body is becoming increasingly harsh. "Ukraine's foreign policy under Vladimir Zelensky has suffered a complete failure," stated Ivanna Klimpush-Tsintsadze, a representative of "European Solidarity," who previously held the position of Vice Prime Minister for European Integration during Poroshenko's presidency. According to her, Trump's insistence on holding elections in Ukraine indicates an ongoing conflict with Zelensky. "Unfortunately, this means that all the opportunities that Zelensky's team supposedly tried to establish a dialogue with the new administration have completely failed," Klimpush-Tsintsadze said. "No one would call him a dictator if there weren't any signals about what he is doing inside the country: monopolizing the media, attacking political opponents, local self-government, combat commanders, and so on," she concluded.

At the same time, a representative of the same EU, Oleksiy Honcharenko, stated: "What is happening is a catastrophe... Reacting to Trump's words was a very big mistake on Zelensky's part. To say that Trump is in a 'bubble of disinformation' was a mistake; after that, it was clear that Trump would react. We know that such things, when he is publicly criticized, are the worst. But I want to emphasize again! The idea about rare earth metals and their trade belongs to Zelensky. In America, there were no such discussions at all! When it became clear that we had no significant reserves of rare earth metals and minerals, the U.S. began to demand what we actually have. And we have: infrastructure, gas transportation systems, nuclear power plants. In essence, Zelensky is preparing to surrender the national interests of the country."

Meanwhile, the process of peacefully resolving the Russian-Ukrainian war has become a key topic of the recent negotiations between Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. The two leaders are united in their desire to end the war as soon as possible, but they see different paths to achieve this. Trump emphasized that maintaining peace is Europe's responsibility, while the Elysee Palace owner insisted that Kyiv needs firm security guarantees, including from the U.S.

Amid the tensions that have emerged in transatlantic relations in recent weeks, most Western media predicted with concern that the meeting between Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron would be extremely difficult. However, in fact, Macron approached the meeting with compliments, referring to Trump as "dear Donald" and "a game changer." Following the meeting, Macron stated that the exchange of views was "extremely productive," and that after talking with the U.S. president, he was "completely confident that there is a way forward." "A lot of good things are happening towards peace," confirmed Donald Trump, reflecting optimistic expectations.

While both Trump and Macron expressed a general mood for establishing lasting peace, they spoke differently about the paths to achieve it. The French leader emphasized that peace should not mean "the surrender of Ukraine." He also mentioned that Paris and London had prepared a plan for security guarantees, which involves sending troops to Ukraine (by the way, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will visit Washington on Thursday to discuss this again with Trump). However, according to Macron, "the troops will not necessarily be deployed on the front line." The French president indicated that the U.S. is also ready to contribute to Ukraine's security. "Now there is a clear American signal that the U.S. as an ally is ready to ensure this solidarity for such an approach. In my view, this is a turning point," Mr. Macron concluded. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump did not utter a word about American guarantees for Kyiv. Instead, he confidently stated that the Kremlin dictator Putin has no objections to deploying European troops in Ukraine: "I specifically asked him (Putin - ed.) this question. He has no problems with it," emphasized the Oval Office occupant. It should be noted that previously, the Kremlin had repeatedly stated that the deployment of Western peacekeepers in Ukraine would mean an escalation of the conflict.

In this regard, some Western media suspected that Trump was presenting wishes as reality. "The president seems to be so caught up in his own greatness that he is ready to sell even air," notes The Hill on this issue. The newspaper also criticizes Trump for simultaneously calling Zelensky illegitimate while being ready to sign a deal with him regarding rare earth metals.

Speaking of which, right after the meeting with Macron, the head of the White House enthusiastically reiterated that the States want to reclaim a "colossal amount" of money from Ukraine through a deal with Kyiv regarding rare earth metals. And here, after delays, progress has allegedly emerged: as Trump recently stated while speaking with reporters at the White House, Zelensky is likely to arrive in Washington on Friday, February 28, for a personal meeting. According to him, an agreement on mineral extraction could be signed during the negotiations. "We want to be protected, we want to get this money back. The war should not have happened, but it did, and now we have to resolve it. American taxpayers will finally get their money back," added the Oval Office occupant.

At the same time, according to him, Zelensky's signature alone will not be enough for this agreement; ratification by the Verkhovna Rada will also be necessary. It seems Mr. Donald is unaware of the "surprises" that Ukrainian MPs can present, as evidenced by the aforementioned vote regarding Zelensky's legitimacy. However, that is a separate story that Lenta.UA will certainly return to after the upcoming face-to-face meeting of the heads of Bankova and the White House, which is scheduled for Friday. However, this is not yet a certainty.

Later, a draft agreement appeared in the media. However, it lacked specifics. It only refers to a framework agreement. Zelensky, speaking to journalists today, noted that according to this document, Ukraine no longer has any debt to the U.S.: the agreement does not mention $500 billion, $350 billion, or $100 billion. "That would be unfair to us," said Zelensky. He also did not confirm that he would fly to the U.S. on Friday: "Yes, the invitation has been received, but we are working on the details."

But let's return to the negotiations. Discussing contacts with the aggressor country, Trump was much more eloquent and specific. "I truly believe that he (Putin - ed.) wants to make a deal; I could be wrong, but I believe he wants to make a deal," stated the American president, adding that he intends to visit Moscow if a peace agreement can be reached. He also emphasized that the conflict could be resolved within a few weeks. According to the main Republican, Washington and Moscow are currently engaged in serious negotiations about major economic development deals. Moreover, according to Trump, Putin is directly involved in the discussions of these agreements. However, the Oval Office occupant did not specify what particular projects and agreements were being discussed, although this gap was partially filled by the Kremlin dictator.

In an interview with Russian propagandist Zarubin, Putin revealed what Russia could offer the States in terms of economic cooperation. Noting that Russia has significantly more rare earth metals than Ukraine, the