Florida Face-Off: Zelenskyy vs. Trump—What They Couldn’t Agree On

Source: Author’s Facebook page

The meeting between the presidents of the United States and Ukraine at Donald Trump’s private residence concluded without any concrete outcomes—and, to be honest, it was hardly surprising.

A real sensation would have been concrete agreements that could be implemented during the meeting, or at least prepared for signing. For me, for instance, the discovery of Trump’s chocolate cake, which the American president served to the Ukrainian delegation, was a revelation—I hope we’ll learn the recipe someday.

But seriously, even such an outcome can be considered positive. After all, the end of the war does not depend on Trump’s goodwill or Zelenskyy’s intentions, but on Putin’s readiness. And that readiness is nowhere in sight—despite all the optimistic conclusions Trump drew from the entirely predictable telephone conversation with the Russian leader.

Putin seeks to use the guise of negotiations to prolong the war—and so far, he has succeeded. In this situation, Ukraine and its European allies need the U.S. not to relax pressure on Russia, but to intensify it.

The formula for this war is clear: if Russia manages to exhaust Ukraine, it will seize its territory—or at least most of it; if Ukraine and its allies manage to exhaust Russia, the Kremlin will have to end its aggression and abandon plans for further wars of conquest.

The only question is: at what point of exhaustion are we? In reality, however, Ukraine—despite the complexity of the situation—holds more cards than Russia, because the West continues to support it. The €90 billion in new European credit is strong evidence of this. Moreover, China and India are unlikely to provide Russia with funding without significant conditions.

Therefore, the most important takeaway from this meeting—which never became historic—is that it occurred in a friendly atmosphere. Trump has no reason to feel offended by Zelenskyy or European leaders. All parties expressed support for the ‘Trump plan’ and signaled a readiness for constructive cooperation with the American president, discussing key principles and potential compromises. The only remaining question is whether Putin is actually willing to end the war.

What happens next? The bureaucracy will keep running. Working groups will be formed—both to liaise with the Ukrainians and to deal with the Russians. These groups will no longer consist solely of Trump’s trusted associates, such as Steve Witkoff or Jared Kushner. They will also include officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Kaine.

These officials cannot act beyond current laws, and neither can the Ukrainian and Russian representatives collaborating with them. This means that if the Russians refuse to abandon demands that cannot be accommodated under Ukrainian law, the negotiations are bound to reach a deadlock—which, of course, benefits Putin, though not Trump.

It remains difficult to predict how the American president will respond to a possible failure or whether Putin can risk openly defying Trump, considering Russia’s current economic situation. There will likely be many more unexpected twists: meetings, phone calls, and shifting positions. The hope is that all this chaos will help bring the war to an end in 2026—and that, next time, a chocolate “Trump” might be served to celebrate the signing of a real peace agreement.

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