Zelensky ʹsert servant Donald Trump

“That's the name of the Ukrainian president's party. Name is program; Volodymyr Zelenskyj and his party want to serve the people. But when it comes to Donald Trump, then Selensky will show and maybe show he's ready for service to the American president. Servilism is the mildest notion of Selensky's words for unconditional and praise cooperation.

The trust-based conversation protocol between the two politicians, on July 25, 2019, says a lot. The notes have been made public because Trump because of this call is under such pressure in his country that he allowed its publication. It thus reads that the American president really puts a lot of pressure on his Ukrainian counterpart. And it's not American interests that are in the first place, but it's about collecting compromising material for a potential rival of Trump in the upcoming election campaign, Democrat politician and former vice president Joe Biden.

But how did Zelensky react?

He repeated Trump's words, listed a compliment after another, and even called his partner in conversation a large “teacher”. Zelensky willingly accepted Trump's wishes. The Ukrainian people's servant became a servant of the American president and made his country a ball game of American domestic politics. Yes, true, politics is always about interests. Selensky's problem at this point is: He did not represent much of the country's interests in front of Trump. He pretended to be a good kid. Not even any important political desire expressed, as if his country had none. He didn't even use this meeting to attract American investments to crisis- shaken Ukraine, nor did he work on his reform agenda, which he promised Ukrainians.

Selensky really praised US sanctions against Russia and aid to the Ukrainian Army. But, he did not speak of possible US support in a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Russia, though many Ukrainians would want just that. He did not mention plans to end the war in Donbas, though this would be the main theme of his presidency and at this point he would need American assistance.

All of this was not important when Zelensky in July of this year finally had the chance to speak to “Mr. President”, whom he has not visited to date at the White House and was able to meet briefly under the UN General Assembly. This, when both agree on how important the US is for Ukraine and how few Europeans lead Angela Merkel. Both politicians had time even to speak ill of German Chancellor and French President Emmanuel Macron. Only after that did Donald Trump get to the subject of interest. Several times and with particular emphasis he pressured Selenskyt to collect information on Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden, who is involved in Ukraine in controversial energy markets.

Donal Trump did not speak overall of widespread corruption in Ukraine and the clientlist economy. He clearly demanded investigations against Beden's son, who at the time of Poroshenko, was in charge of a Ukrainian energy concert on which they weighed doubts. Next: Not American justice, but exactly one of Trump's lawyers would help Ukraine at this point. The point is, right at the time of the call, Trump really temporarily stopped US military aid to Ukraine. But the two presidents did not talk about it.

The doubt arises however, Trump puts under pressure a head of state in a foreign country. And he became part of the game, because he couldn't or didn't want to do otherwise. Ukraine's dependence on the United States is huge. No wonder the Democrats now seize the case for the possibility of an American president's dismissal procedure.

It is Zelenskyj ʹ whose party only recently introduced the launch procedure for the presidents in Ukraine under the US model, that it may now have offered the occasion for a dismissal procedure to be opened in Washington. / DW/