World Briefing: March 1, 2025

President Donald Trump ripped into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday, demanding respect and gratitude from the wartime leader in a blistering encounter that could determine whether Europe’s future is war or peace. The heated back-and-forth — with Trump, Zelensky and Vice President JD Vance at times talking over each other — was a striking breach of Oval Office comity, where even tough exchanges have typically happened with calm voices and diplomatic language. Not Friday, when Trump told Zelensky that he had no cards and was in no position to make requests of the United States. He also suggested that talks could derail unless attitudes changed. The on-camera fury had no modern precedent and was all the more striking at a time when Trump has been more sympathetic to Moscow than to Kyiv after generations in which Washington has stood staunchly against Kremlin aggression across the world. Zelensky traveled from Kyiv to finalize a deal granting the United States limited access to Ukraine’s natural resources, which the smaller country had hoped would make the United States more open to bolstering its security in the war with Russia. Instead, the meeting ended without signatures, as Trump booted Zelensky from the White House and issued what appeared to be a threat to cut off U.S. aid for Ukraine entirely. The turn of events was surprising given the optimism that both sides had projected going into a meeting that was designed to showcase a renewed relationship between Zelensky and Trump. The rapid deterioration revealed just how much tension continues to simmer between the two leaders, and it stunned policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic. One senior European diplomat described feeling nauseous watching the encounter. “You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position,” Trump told Zelensky, blaming Ukraine for the war even though it began with an unprovoked invasion by Moscow - Washington Post

My hot take analysis: Donald Trump’s brand of disgraceful, school yard bully diplomacy was on full display yesterday for all the world to see. It was not long after the Trump/JD Vance Oval Office meltdown ended, that I starting to connect dots on what just happened. As often happens in life, not everything met the eye. I’ve a growing feeling that what we saw was almost pre-meditated. A deliberate sabotage by the Trump team of a draft resource deal that became so diluted that they no longer felt inclined to sign. But more so - long-simmering lava building up within Donald Trump against Zelensky and Ukraine that reached boiling point. Aided by his pit-bull VP who’s never liked the country. Absolutely astonishing events! Should Zelensky had kept more quiet to avoid enraging the two US leaders even further? Perhaps. But judging from early reaction from here on the ground in Ukraine, he will come home a hero. But what will also be of immediate concern to Ukrainians is what happens on the frontline and above them in the skies. As if almost on cue yesterday, just as the meeting broke up, Russian President Putin’s forces showered the skies in Odesa and elsewhere with ballistic missiles and drones. Emergency power outages have been announced for several regions, including Kyiv.

Here’s a crucial point: Ukraine is entering a very dangerous stage. We cannot rule out that an angry and unhinged Donald Trump could cut Ukraine off from three vital lines of support. 1) Via the shadow vice-president, Elon Musk, who owns the Starlink satellite communications service, he could pull the plug on subscriptions (paid for by Poland) used by the Ukrainian military and humanitarian institutions here in Ukraine. 2) Washington could stop sharing satellite and other intelligence information with Kyiv (including targeting data to strike inside of Russia), 3. Most importantly, the Pentagon could disable the Patriot missile defense system - making Ukrainian cities and infrastructure extremely vulnerable.

Volodymyr Zelensky said he believes relations with the White House can be salvaged. In his first public comments just hours after the fiery exchange in the Oval Office, Zelensky told Fox News that he respects Trump and “of course” believes the relationship can be fixed as Ukraine does not want to lose its partner. He said it would be difficult for Ukraine to hold off the Kremlin’s military might without U.S. support but said Kyiv would not enter peace talks with Moscow until it receives security guarantees against another Russian military offensive. “Ukraine wants peace, and we will have peace,” he said, adding, however, that it must be a “just and lasting peace” and that “we have to be in a strong position” to negotiate. - RFE/RL

European leaders quickly pledged their continued support for Ukraine on Friday after President Trump’s blistering criticism of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a meeting at the White House. Leaders lined up behind Ukraine and praised its embattled president, the statements coming one after the other: from France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Norway, Finland, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Belgium, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Ireland. Canadian, Australian and New Zealand leaders added their voices to the Europeans’. Even as Western leaders generally shied away from explicitly criticizing Mr. Trump, who had told Mr. Zelensky he was “not in a good position” and angrily threatened to pull American support for Ukraine unless he agreed to a cease-fire deal with Russia, many in Europe addressed their statements of encouragement directly to Mr. Zelensky. “Your dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said on social media, referring to Mr. Zelensky. “Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone, dear President.” President Emmanuel Macron of France, who had put on a display of friendship with Mr. Trump during a chummy visit to the White House on Monday, said the United States and Europe had been justified in aiding Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago. In a statement, Mr. Macron urged America to remain on the side of the Ukrainians, who he said were “fighting for their dignity, their independence, their children, and the security of Europe.” Friedrich Merz, who is on track to become Germany’s next chancellor after the country’s election this week, said in a statement addressed to “Dear Volodymyr” that his country would stand behind Ukraine “in good and in testing times.” He added: “We must never confuse aggressor and victim in this terrible war,” Mr. Merz added, apparently referring to Mr. Trump, who has called Mr. Zelensky a dictator and blamed him for the invasion. The departing German leader, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said that Ukraine could rely on Germany and the rest of Europe. Daniel Fried, a career diplomat under American presidents of both parties who had just returned from a trip to Brussels, said the Oval Office clash had jolted Europe’s capitals, generated a wave of sympathy for Mr. Zelensky and upended a peace process that appeared to be gaining traction. “The Europeans are horrified and dismayed,” Mr. Fried said, adding that Europeans see the United States shifting to a great-power strategy in which large countries carve up the world. “They’re watching the America they know and respect change in a matter of a couple of weeks.” - NYT

Support for Ukraine was voiced among elected leaders in the United States, but almost solely on the Democratic side of the aisle: “This is the most embarrassing and shameful moment I’ve ever witnessed from the Oval Office. American leadership publicly siding with a Dictator in Vladimir Putin and berating a democratic friend in Ukraine will not be forgotten by any nation around the world,” Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver posted on social media. Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton went so far as to call on Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Walz to resign. “This is one of the most disgraceful performances that I’ve seen. Trump and Vance own this personally.. You have Rubio and Waltz staying… This is the point… that you resign,” he said.

Former CIA Director John Brennan piled onto Republican Senator Lindsey Graham’s comments after the meeting - saying that Zelensky’s behavior was “disrespectful “ and that the U.S. can no longer do business with him. “It is clear from today’s events that Trump and JD Vance are either ignorant of world history or intentionally ignoring it. And their naivety when it comes to Russia and their amateurish attitude to diplomacy worries me….Donald Trump looks at the world through a very transactional, mercantilist prism, and I fear what he is doing is carving up the world into spheres of influence. And he’s basically saying to Vladimir Putin, ‘OK you can have Ukraine, you can have the eastern part of Europe. And it does send a very chilling message to all of our allies and partners. And what message does it send to President Xi of China? ‘We’re not really going to care about Taiwan.’ He (Trump) just throws aside tall of the many years of American values and principles that have really undergirded global stability and security, And Donald Trump demonstrated in this meeting today that he’s not interested in that. He’s interested in doing what only he believes, as a real estate developer, needs to get done. And it’s atrocious, it’s despicable - and the things that (U.S. Senator) Lindsay Graham says? Spineless, unprincipled despicable.”

Turkey’s foreign minister will reiterate Ankara’s offer to host peace talks between Ukraine and Russia at a meeting of European leaders in London on Sunday, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Saturday. NATO-member Turkey hosted initial talks between the sides months after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, helping secure a deal for the safe passage of grain exports in the Black Sea. On Sunday, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is expected to underline that Turkey is ready to host negotiations and emphasise that all parties must jointly focus on lasting regional security and stability, as well as economic prosperity, the source added. A Black Sea littoral state like Ukraine and Russia, Turkey has maintained good ties with both since the start of the war. It has provided Kyiv with military support, while refusing to participate in Western sanctions against Moscow - France 24

Kurdish militants who have waged a 40-year insurgency in Turkey declared a ceasefire on Saturday in what could mark a significant boost to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, two days after their imprisoned leader called for the group to disarm. The announcement by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, comes against the backdrop of fundamental changes in the region, including the reconfiguration of power in neighboring Syria after the toppling of President Bashar Assad, the weakening of the Hezbollah militant movement in Lebanon and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has led to tens of thousands of deaths since it began in 1984. The ceasefire is the first sign of a breakthrough since peace talks between the PKK and Ankara broke down in the summer of 2015. Erdogan said Ocalan’s message was a “new phase” in peace efforts in Turkey. “There is an opportunity to take a historic step toward tearing down the wall of terror that has stood between (Turkish and Kurdish peoples’) 1,000-year-old brotherhood,” Erdogan said on Friday - AP

Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers say they no longer consider the Doha agreement -- a peace deal with the United States that paved the way for the withdrawal of Western forces from the country -- to be valid. Speaking on February 28, the fifth anniversary of the agreement, chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the accord was limited to a particular time frame, which has now expired. “The Islamic Emirate has its own governance system, and now we are no longer moving forward based on that agreement,” he told the state TV. Mujahid said that the Taliban had fulfilled its key obligation under the agreement by preventing Afghanistan from becoming a launchpad for terrorist attacks against Washington and its allies. He called on Washington to “take positive steps to engage with Afghanistan” and help in removing the Taliban leaders from international sanctions lists - RFE/RL

The creators of the bizarre “Trump Gaza” AI video don’t know how President Donald Trump found it and claim they don’t want to be part of his “propaganda machine.” Israel natives Solo Avital and Ariel Vromen, who now live in the United States, said their video was meant to be satirical. The viral video features a ludicrous depiction of Gaza in which Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit shirtless by a pool near a giant golden statue of Trump. It portrays the Gaza Strip as a shiny resort with Trump’s name smacked on it—far different from the reality of a war-torn country where 2.2 million people have been displaced and almost 50,000 have died. The video received backlash from Palestinians and U.S. citizens alike. Now, even Avital and Vromen seem to regret the clip, saying that it was created as a software experiment and that they weren’t sure how it ended up reaching the White House. But while they said it was a “joke,” the pair complimented the president’s policy proposal to relocate Palestinians and “level” the region to create a “Rivera of the Middle East.” - Daily Beast

This Briefing is reprinted with the author’s permission. Please find the original here.