Zelenskyy reached understanding with Trump, will push Russia response - ex-PM Yatsenyuk
The founder and chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum (KSF), former Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2014-16 Arseniy Yatsenyuk, has said that he expects that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be able to convey to US President Donald Trump during a meeting in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly a signal about the need to jointly respond to the actions of the Russian Federation in order not to be humiliated by the dictators of the world.
"It seems to me that they (Zelenskyy and Trump - IF-U) have come to an understanding. The relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy is better than Putin expected," Yatsenyuk said in an interview with France24.
"I believe that President Zelenskyy will send a very clear signal to President Trump: 'The whole world is watching you, Mr. President. You have enough strength. You are very strong. You are brave. But are you ready to act? This is how history will judge you. We rely on you, Mr. President. We believe that you will defend a sovereign and independent Ukraine together with our Western allies. Otherwise, you will be humiliated by dictators. And Putin is not alone. This is a whole alliance, a new axis of evil under the patronage of China," he said.
The former head of the Ukrainian government believes that Trump expected to receive some concessions during a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, "but Putin outplayed him." "Now is the time to act and for him to make a U-turn against Russia. But once again: let's wait and see. This is exactly Trump's style - 'let's see what happens '... Trump depends on the political elite and on his voters. The vast majority of Americans are resolutely against Russia. The vast majority of Americans believe that Russia is a threat to US national security. This works in our favor, because it increases the likelihood of President Trump making the right decision... But Putin is closely watching: will these words turn into actions? For now, no. But the decision cannot be postponed. Otherwise, it will be a disaster for the US and the White House," Yatsenyuk said.
He is convinced that if the US wants to lead the world, it must act, and believes "that President Trump will act."
Commenting on the incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace and aircraft into Estonian airspace, the former prime minister expressed his belief that Putin is thus conducting a "smell test:" whether the Western allies are really ready to fulfill their obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. "And as of now, the reaction is not what everyone expected," Yatsenyuk noted.
According to him, if Soviet planes had violated the airspace of NATO member states during the Cold War, they would have been shot down. "Putin understands only the language of actions, not empty words. And now we have a lot of beautiful statements, wonderful messages, but what is needed are actions - decisive and strong. The same is happening with Ukraine. "We need very firm determination and very strong actions against Putin's war in Ukraine," the former prime minister stressed.
He noted that NATO's ability to take decisive action depends on the United States. "Putin is trying to play on Trump, that's obvious. But I still believe that Trump will never allow Putin to humiliate him. Trump is quite unpredictable, because many could not even imagine that he would launch a missile strike on Iran. But it happened. So this adventure that Putin started against the West, and the provocations that he launched, can have very bad and fatal consequences for Russia," Yatsenyuk believes.
The former prime minister called Zelenskyy a "wartime president" who has changed a lot during his presidency. "He is fully aware of the historical moment and the fact that history lies on his shoulders," Yatsenyuk said.
