Trump's shadow diplomacy: Seeking new allies in Ukraine
According to Politico, Donald Trump's representatives have been secretly meeting with the Ukrainian opposition. Recently, the President and his associates have indicated a preference for a different negotiating partner than Volodymyr Zelensky and are advocating for elections.
Four senior representatives of Donald Trump met with Yulia Tymoshenko, former Prime Minister and leader of the opposition Batkivshchyna party, and representatives of former President Petro Poroshenko's European Solidarity, Politico reports, citing three Ukrainian deputies and a Republican foreign policy expert.
The Americans wanted to determine whether Ukraine can hold prompt presidential elections. Currently, elections are suspended due to martial law. The Ukrainian constitution prohibits their organization in these conditions. Commentators also highlight that elections at this time would not be fair, as a significant portion of the country is involved in conflict, and millions of Ukrainians are abroad.
The Americans desire that the elections occur after a ceasefire agreement is achieved but before final peace talks.
Tymoshenko and Poroshenko have publicly opposed holding elections during ongoing conflict. However, as Politico reports, both presented themselves to Trump's representatives as more agreeable collaborators—and as individuals who would agree to many things that Zelensky was unwilling to. This is according to an international policy expert from the Republican Party who wishes to remain anonymous.
Trump wants to remove Zelensky
The Trump administration wants elections organized in Ukraine because it believes Volodymyr Zelensky would lose, partly because of public fatigue with the war and his current administration. The Americans also sought a more compliant president who was open to negotiations with the Russians and significant concessions on the path to peace. The Kremlin is also pressuring voters, having tried for years to oust Zelensky.
However, Trump may have miscalculated. According to a British Survation poll conducted after the uproar at the White House, 44% of Ukrainians would support Zelensky in another presidential bid.
The second-highest support was for former Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and current Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Valery Zaluzhny, who is supported by 21%.
Poroshenko would receive 10% of the vote, former Verkhovna Rada Chairman Dmytro Razumkov would receive 6.1%, and Yulia Tymoshenko would receive 5.7%.
