Oval Office: Theatre of the absurd
That it was a theatre of the absurd is a gross understatement. What happened to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at Oval Office in the White House on Friday displayed lowest ebb in diplomacy, in the international relations. President Donald Trump and Vice President J D Vance were seen berating their guest from Ukraine as if he had intruded into glided place to the shock and surprise of the inmates. The fact is that, in reality, it was a meeting between two unequals - .Zelensky had come with a hope of striking a deal on the minerals with security guarantees from America. Donald Trump had other ideas. He wanted the deal without offering any guarantees of security to Ukraine.
Negotiations in the international relations have their own dynamics. It is not always that your are given what you want. There are maximalist positions and then these come down to the level of acceptance. In terms of size, power and influence Ukraine and the United States are poles apart. Ukraine cannot be equal to the US, but when it comes to two nations and their heads, the deal making is between equals. That is where Zelensky and Donald Trump were equals on Friday. Another thing that matters most in such conversations is the language, where each and every word is weighed, and then spoken. Here, Zelensky perhaps had not anticipated the boorish treatment that he was meted at the White House. Ultimately, despite his humiliation in which he walked out of the White House, the loss was that of Ukraine.
There are two major perspectives to what happened in the White House. One, of course is the ugly spectacle in which heads of the state were arguing. Donald Trump insisted on his worldview, seeking to end Russia-Ukraine conflict His pronounced claim was that he wanted peace, but what was wrong with that is that he did not want Russia to be censured for the conflict that has raged on for over three years now. This indeed was not acceptable to Zelensky. He tried to put forth his view point about his idea and experience about Russia and its president Vladimir Putin, to which both Trump and Vance shouted him down under the glare of the world media.
Second, whether this kind of exchange of heated words is going to be the norm of the international dialogue. The dialogue has its own imperatives. It is all about gestures and sophistication of language. Harsh words may be used in private but making a public spectacle means disaster. The parameters of dialogue cannot be defined. There is a lit bit of diplomatic science, but fundamentally these are taught by civilizations. Tomorrow, teachers cannot go to classrooms with the video clips of the Oval Office spat between Zelensky and Trump and tell that this is how the international relations are worked out. It can be an example as to how things should not be done.
America indeed is a super power. It has given billions of dollars to Ukraine, under Biden administration, to fight war that was inflicted on it by Russia. The US was playing its game that time, and it is playing its game this time too. Biden was settling his scores with Putin when he pledged support to Zelensky and translated that in military aid and equipment. That was re-invocation of its Containment doctrine (of George F Kennan) of the Cold War era. The Cold War might have ended, but the mindset of containment continues to guide American policies across the world. Its dynamics have changed from checking the expansion of the Communist world to all the forces that challenge the American hegemony. It has less to do with the liberal democratic values but more concern about promoting and expanding American interests. Trump, a deal maker, is seeking to make deal on everything under his own theme of “Make America Great Again.”
As the international relations experts have noted, and rightly so, that the net gainer out of this blow up in the White House on Friday is Russia, and in particular President Vladimir Putin. What Putin could not do him, Trump has done it. The US President took all the talking points of Putin and talked it across to Zelensky. He reminded the Ukrainian president that his country is vulnerable and he has no cards to play. Zelensky knew what Trump was telling him was truth as without the US support Ukraine can neither end the war nor can continue with it, but it goes to his credit that he used political spine for the country. Staying silent was not an option for him. He spoke and made his point without any trace of fear
The question is what next? Trump being Trump will not settle at that. There are many right-wing advocates who have been denouncing Zelensky for lacking diplomatic etiquettes at the meeting, with one of the reporters asking him, why he wasn’t wearing a suit. The diplomacy is all about the art and nature of dialogue and not about dresses. Zelensky has rarely been seen in a three-piece suit. But after the spat at the White House, Zelensky has reiterated that he needed support of the US not only for the deal on minerals but also on ending the conflict with Russia. Barring some of the European leaders, no other leader of consequence has come out in his support. China, which has no limit friendship with Russia, of course would not have supported Zelensky, and others have maintained a silence as they don’t want to annoy Trump or Putin. They are playing safe. They don’t want to move into the troubled waters in the world. That is also part of the real politics, why invite trouble when they can avoid it. They are not even waiting and watching. They have concluded that taking sides is suicidal, and no one wants to commit suicide.
Though Europe has voiced solidarity with Ukrainian president yet it is the Europe that will be affected the most in the rise of trans-Atlantic tensions. For all these decades, since the end of WW II, the Western Europe handed over all its strategic interests and security to the US. And after collapse of the Soviet Union – that is in post Cold War, the entire continent is dependent upon the US. With the US and Russia appearing to be aligning with each other in the new world order, Europe has reasons to be worried.
There is a near consensus that Europe is not having enough military resources and troops to work any future peace deals that Ukraine might ultimately agree to sign with Russia. Therefore, it is necessary for the Europeans to invoke the sense of mercy of Donald Trump and his team to work out a peace deal for Ukraine with the guarantees. But Trump is looking for his part of the bargain, and it is very important as to what Europe can offer him in return. His sole interest is in the deal.
