The photograph of Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskiy at the centre of a long line of EU leaders including Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer, Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron of France, president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte was historic. Mr Zelenskiy’s gratitude to Mr Trump was plain to see and he had brought with him a letter his wife, Olena Zelenska, had written to the first lady, Melania Trump, in response to her own letter to Mr Putin on behalf of Ukrainian children abducted or otherwise affected by the war. Perhaps the optics, as much as the subsequent phone call, is what Mr Trump was ultimately trying to communicate to his Russian counterpart as he presses on with his unshakeable belief that he can master the art of even the most perilous deal.
Author: Keith Duggan
Published at: 2025-08-18 21:39:10
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