Trump softens tone on Zelenskiy, but not on backing for Ukraine - Bloomberg

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the United States can be considered a ‘symbolic win’.

Bloomberg writes about this, Censor.NET reports.

Today, Zelenskyy will arrive at the White House to sign a minerals agreement with Trump. The worst fears seemed to fade a bit on the eve of the trip, as the US leader said he ‘can't believe he called Zelenskyy a dictator,’ the publication writes.

However, the polite tone could not compensate for Trump's refusal to commit that the US would be ready to support the troops that Britain plans to send to Ukraine.

Ukraine and Europe see the promise of US military involvement as critical to prevent Russia from invading again in the future.

"European officials took some encouragement from the fact that Zelenskiy is coming to Washington to seal an agreement handing the US a big stake in future revenues from Ukrainian minerals and other resources as compensation for its support," the journalists write.

Ukrainian officials have said that Zelenskyy hopes to use the mining deal as a starting point for broader discussions on US security guarantees.

"The hope is that just by signing it, it will give Donald Trump the perception of having done a deal, having received a payback for the support that he has given to Ukraine," said Liana Fix, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

She considers the meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy a ‘symbolic win’.

"If a meeting with Putin would have taken place before meeting with Zelenskiy, the optics would have been terrible," Fix added.

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