President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent press conference reflected a strategic shift as he aimed to present Ukraine as a cooperative partner to the U.S. administration under Donald Trump. Having faced backlash from a prior meeting, Zelenskyy adopted a more measured tone, focusing on positive developments from recent discussions in Saudi Arabia. His approach emphasizes careful communication, as advised by Britain and France, minimizing provocative statements that could trigger Trump. With a ceasefire potentially on the horizon, Zelenskyy's demeanor is critical for future negotiations and has been shaped by past encounters with the U.S. government.
Eager to show the White House that Ukraine is onboard for negotiations and not an obstacle to Donald Trump's desire to bring peace, Zelenskyy seems to be trying to erase the memories of the nightmare meeting in the White House two weeks ago.
Instead of issuing demands, he spoke calmly about a very positive meeting between US and Ukrainian delegations in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, and said the details would come later.
Over the past two weeks, Britain and France have been working with the Ukrainians on how to best calibrate messages for the volatile new US administration.
His pauses for careful thought before answering questions were noticeable. Referring to the talks in Saudi Arabia, he said there were a lot of details that we don't want to talk about now.
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