Trump-Zelensky ‘shouting match’ shows how US props up and discards ‘allies’

By Musa Iqbal

The heated exchange between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office revealed the true nature - and cost - of being a so-called US ally. 

The meeting, which took place on February 28, ended with the visiting Ukrainian president being asked to leave the White House abruptly, cancelling the lunch and joint press conference.

Fiery words were exchanged in a publicly broadcasted meeting where Trump accused Zelensky of “provoking World War Three” and blamed him for not wanting to reach a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Zelensky fired back, insisting that since 2014 real peace guarantees were not met between Russia and Ukraine, and that a forced ceasefire without security guarantees would not solve the issue for the Ukrainian people. 

A harsh exchange of words commenced, with Vice President J D Vance accusing Zelensky of bringing state officials from the previous administration on “propaganda tours” and accusing the embattled Ukrainian president of not being “thankful” for US support.

Trump, who has been critical of US military spending in the Ukraine war, insisted that Zelensky is not interested in peace. He later posted on social media that the Ukrainian president is welcome back to the White House when he is “ready for peace.”

Zelensky, entering his third year of war with Russia that ensued with Russia’s 2022 “Special Military Operation,” has been under extreme pressure from Washington to quickly “wrap things up” in order to save lives and put an end to the disastrous NATO-engineered war.

Trump has completely rejected the idea of NATO entry for Ukraine, even after the end to hostilities, an idea that was dangled in front of the Ukrainian president for months leading up to the 2022 war. 

In fact, Washington seems to be keen on moving on with or without Ukraine. Negotiations between Russia and the United States regarding the war were recently held in Riyadh and Turkey - without Ukraine being invited to the table.

Furthermore, in a UN resolution condemning the Russian military operation, the United States under Trump voted in a 180 degrees pivot from the Biden administration - voting alongside Russia in rejecting the condemnation. 

While the Biden administration pledged unending - albeit limited - support to the Ukrainians, Trump had adopted a different course, insisting that if the Ukrainian side seeks to commit to the conflict, they should not look to the US for unending support - and rely on European allies.

This has sparked outrage among European officials - who immediately published statements supporting Ukraine and condemning Russia in a seemingly united line of messaging. 

Trump’s changeup from the Biden administration’s commitment should not really come as a surprise to anyone. This is the very nature of United States foreign policy - yesterday’s friend is tomorrow’s enemy, today’s enemy is tomorrow’s friend - and so on. 

The public humiliation Zelensky was subjected to should be a stark reminder to anyone watching that it may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal - to quote former US Secretary of State and infamous warmonger Henry Kissinger. 

These same promises of security and commitment were made to Afghanistan - shortly before the infamous and disastrous 2021 US withdrawal.

It is the same sort of commitment the US pledged to an earlier form of the Taliban and Al Qaeda - when it was in the US interests to weaken the Soviet Union in the 1980s - before going to war with them 20 years later.

And of course, the once US-backed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein also fell to this curse when the United States invaded Iraq in 2004 in order to continue its plunder of West Asia. 

Zelensky is the latest addition to a longstanding tradition of the United States arming and propping certain actors only to discard them when their cause no longer aligns with Washington’s preferred and immediate interest.

It is also a fatal mistake to think Trump’s interest is peace, as some of Trump’s supporters insist.

Far from it, in fact. The new alignment in strategy is not out of some noble pursuit of ending hostilities, rather, it is a repositioning for new conflict.

Trump seeks to break not only Russia-Iran relations, but Russia-China relations as well. He has been extremely clear in his opposition to the growth of BRICS, and more importantly, a BRICS currency that would seek to replace the US dollar as the global reserve currency - a reality that US capitalists would strongly oppose.

Western critics, particularly of the liberal and neoconservative variety, insist that Trump is “handing over” Ukraine to Russia without seemingly any concessions.

But this is far from the truth. Ukraine is likely being used as a bargaining chip by the US to advance its interests elsewhere, such as against Iran in Western Asia and China as the primary economic challenger to US hegemony.

Behind the scenes, Trump is likely seeking to maneuver a halt to the increasing collaboration between Russia, China and Iran. 

Zelensky is caught in the middle of a game he has little control over from the start. Since the 2014 Maidan coup, a US-sponsored and orchestrated uprising that removed a neutral Ukrainian government in favor of a pro-US one, different officials in Washington have been calling the shots behind the scenes leading up to the 2022 war.

Intelligence assets from NATO countries started to collaborate with the new regime, while massive transfers of arms to the Ukrainian military commenced with some factions led by far right neo-Nazis.

This was a long-term strategy to ultimately provoke Russia into taking military action against Ukraine - which at the behest of the US - sought to join NATO and hold US missiles on Ukrainian soil. Russia’s military operation was met with a sanctions regime in which it was nearly completely isolated from Western markets - forcing Russia to double down on exchange between neutral countries.

With the war entering its third year, the US is banking on Russia wanting some economic alleviation. Even with the expansion of the BRICS alliance, the pathway to a BRICS reserve currency is long and filled with hurdles.

Trump is not above Biden in continuing and strengthening sanctions against Russia in order to make his point clear. 

What concessions Russia offers, if any, remains to be seen, but the US strategy is clear: use Ukraine as a bargaining chip to stifle the rise of multipolarity or foster a multipolarity that still favors the US. 

One should also not make the mistake in asserting that the Biden administration was interested - or believed in - a Ukrainian victory. The Biden strategy was to bleed out Russia - forcing Russia to exert its military energy into Ukraine while striking it economically through sanctions and economic pressure.

The same hostilities the Trump administration has for China and Iran also exist within the Biden presidency, albeit taking different forms and strategy. 

The culmination of these changing strategies and interest was the very public unraveling between Zelensky, Vance and Trump.

As European officials strategize the war effort to an equation without the US, the US instead pursues putting an end to hostilities in order to focus on other fronts. The very public humiliation Zelensky faced ended with the US’s favorite language - ultimatums. 

“You’re either going to make a deal, or we’re out. And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out—and I don’t think it’s going to be pretty,” Trump asserted.

What steps are taken to finally end this conflict are yet to be seen - but world leaders paying attention should take note - as it was then, it is now: the US does not have friends, it has interests.

Musa Iqbal is a Boston-based researcher and writer focusing on US domestic and foreign policy.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.)

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir