In Trump’s world, insult diplomacy is one-sided

When it comes to the president’s relations Donald Trump With foreign leaders, the rules of the game are clear:

he can tear you to pieces. But woe betide you if you hit him back.

No one knows that better than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been through this diplomatic ordeal more than once.

But he got a stark reminder during a closed-door meeting in Oslo this week with Trump negotiators.

Steve Witkoffthe president’s special envoy, and Jared Kushnerthe president’s son-in-law, on Tuesday reproached Mr. Zelensky for his harsh remarks in response to Mr. Trump’s scathing comments about him, and told the Ukrainian leader that his actions had infuriated the president, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

Zelensky defended himself at times during the discussion as Americans complained about certain comments.

“I never said that,” Zelensky insisted at one point, according to the person, who shared details on condition of anonymity because it was a private conversation.

But he clearly got the message.

When he spoke to reporters afterward, a subdued Zelensky took pains to offer a positive assessment while avoiding his recent criticism of Trump.

“We are grateful to the American side,” Zelensky said when mentioning the resumption of US intelligence assistance.

He indicated that he had spoken with the Secretary of State, Marco Rubioon the way to Oslo, which produced “positive signals from the American side” and that had a “very constructive dialogue” with Witkoff and Kushner.

“But,” he added, “it was very constructive between us because we all want peace: Ukraine, Europe, the United States.”

The one-way school of diplomacy has worked for Trump as his belligerence leaves many world leaders reluctant to cross him for fear of retaliation or even, depending on their mood, a new round of tariffs.

Trump demands deference while rarely giving it, except to those who accede to his wishes or whom he wants to please, notably autocrats like the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin; the president of China, Xi Jinpingy Kim Jong-un from North Korea.

The contrast between Trump’s attitude toward autocrats versus Democrats became even more evident a day after the meeting in Oslo, when Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg to participate in peace talks.

After securing the release of an American prisoner in Russia, Witkoff called Putin, who faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes, “humanitarian”.

Zelensky has been one of the exceptions, openly challenging Trump at times.

But he has to gauge how far that can take him, because his country remains dependent on the United States for its survival while defending itself from Russia’s invasion.

The meeting in Oslo was aimed at ironing out the rough edges of the most recent rift.

Witkoff passed through the Norwegian capital before heading to St. Petersburg.

Kushner, who was ill, did not accompany Witkoff but joined the conversation via video conference.

Trump’s recent turn even further toward Moscow has sparked much speculation that it could be related to the upcoming midterm elections.

But Witkoff and Kushner went at length during their conversation with Zelensky to deny any connection to domestic politics, according to the person briefed on the session.

Zelensky had two friends with him for the meeting: his host, the prime minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Storeand the president of Finland, Alexander Stubbwho was visiting.

Both have been staunch supporters of Ukraine and, like most European leaders, do not share Trump’s inclination toward Russia, but at the same time take pains not to irritate him if not necessary.

“I’m happy that we were able to meet today to clarify some things and agree that what matters now is looking to the future,” Store said.

“There’s nothing to be gained by digging into what was said yesterday or a week ago. Now we really have to be focused on what lies ahead.”

Stubb expressed hope that the back-and-forth with Washington would end now.

“Today was a success and tomorrow is a new day and hopefully we won’t turn back,” he said.

Store and Stubb organized the meeting in Oslo in the hope of getting peace negotiations back on track.

The idea that Witkoff would have gone to Russia to meet Putin without seeing Zelensky first would have made for a terrible image, two European officials said.

The meeting in Oslo would not completely resolve the fundamental problems, they added, but there is no real alternative to American leadership.

The White House had no immediate comment on the meeting in Oslo.

An American close to the talks said the participants had a frank but respectful exchange that allowed them to “clear things up” and move forward.

Zelensky’s public criticism of Trump may serve his own short-term political goals, the American warned, but is ultimately counterproductive to Ukraine’s longer-term goals of ending the war.

This has been the calculation that many world leaders have had to make, particularly in Trump’s second term:

when to respond in kind if the American president attacks and when to swallow one’s pride so as not to provoke him.

For years, presidents and prime ministers of allied nations did everything they could to avoid angering Trump, who prefers escalation over conciliation.

But in recent months, especially since their threats to seize Greenland last winter, leaders have shown less submission and more willingness to stand firm.

The Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carneyhas led the way with its defiance of Trump’s attempts to coerce the United States’ northern neighbor into making trade concessions.

Instead of backing down, as leaders in Trump’s first term often did, Carney decided to “strike back” and imposed dollar-for-dollar tariffs in retaliation.

However, Zelensky’s situation is more complicated.

Trump has been biased against Ukraine since his first term, as his advisers convinced him that kyiv interfered in the 2016 election against him, an unfounded claim that intelligence agencies have called Russian disinformation.

His effort in 2019 to pressure Zelensky to open an investigation into his Democratic rival, Joe Bidenled to Trump’s first impeachment trial for abuse of power.

The tone for the second term was set shortly after Trump returned to power last year and rebuked Zelensky in an explosive Oval Office meeting.

Zelensky showed at that moment that he was not afraid to confront the president.

But under the advice of European leaders and congressional allies, Zelensky has since sought mostly to avoid direct confrontations.

The past two weeks made that more difficult as Trump, who has long had a friendly relationship with Putin, made an even more drastic turn in the direction of Moscow.

Among other things, Trump and his team have reached a deal to buy Russian diesel, lifted some sanctions and exempted Russia from others included in the legislation he just signed, reduced some satellite and intelligence assistance to kyiv, delayed the delivery of interceptors and worked to broker a deal to sell lucrative russian oil assets to people with ties to Trump’s circle.

Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Zelensky in recent days, calling it “disgraceful” that Ukraine is attacking Russian oil refineries and insisting that it “stop the damn thing.”

He again blamed Zelensky for the war that Putin started and said that “Russia has been good” even as intense waves of Russian missiles and drones are killing more civilians in Ukraine than at any time since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Trump went so far as to demand that Ukraine “find itself a new president” instead of Zelensky.

On the contrary, he did not have harsh words for Putin, and said that he did not want to “do anything that would foolishly distance Russia from the negotiating table.”

Openly calling for the removal of the leader of another democracy goes far beyond diplomatic protocol.

But when Zelensky responded by calling the diesel measure a “weak decision,” suggesting he felt “betrayed” and indicating that Washington appeared to be trying to “convince Ukraine to surrender,” Trump adopted the role of the aggrieved party.

Just hours before the meeting in Oslo, he again placed responsibility for making peace on Ukraine rather than Putin, who could end the war tomorrow if he stopped attacks on his neighbor.

“Zelensky has to want to resolve this war,” Trump told reporters in Washington.

“And if he doesn’t, I think it’s going to be a very bad thing.”

Trump’s claim that Zelensky, rather than Putin, is the obstacle to peace offends Ukrainians and Europeans alike.

Zelensky emphasized in Oslo that, after all, his people are the ones under bombardment.

“We are losing people, and because Russia attacks, we are losing people and time, and it’s a shame because our children don’t have a real life, a childhood, or all the people, to be honest,” he said.

“That’s why we need to end this war as quickly as possible. I hope our partners, Americans and Europeans, will help us.”