The damage can’t be undone – ex-Indian top diplomat on Zelensky-Trump spat

Former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal called the talks in Washington a “complete disaster”

Former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal has called Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s meeting with US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance at the White House on Friday a “disaster.” He suggested the public spat that resulted in Trump accusing Zelensky of being ungrateful and unwilling to pursue a negotiated peace further deepened the negative perceptions of the Ukrainian leader in Washington. 

Speaking in an interview with RT, Sibal highlighted Trump’s longstanding skepticism toward Zelensky, stating, “Even before Trump got elected, he was saying that Zelensky is a ‘super-truth’ man. Each time he comes to the United States, he goes back with a few billion.” 

Commenting on how Ukrainians might perceive the failed talks, Sibal suggested that, under martial law, “People can’t express themselves freely.” He added, “Support will be mobilized locally by the government to uphold Zelensky’s brave stand in standing up to President Trump and proving the dignity of Ukraine. But the damage is very severe. I don’t think it can be undone because all that has happened comes on top of already strong negative feelings that Trump and his team have for Zelensky.”  

Referring to the viral videos emerging from the Oval Office meeting on Friday, Sibal noted that Ukraine’s ambassador appeared “evidently very shocked” that the conversation went “so negative and unpleasant.” He added that the diplomat had likely worked hard to explain Kiev’s position, but “all this work obviously went in vain.” 

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Sibal also raised concerns about Europe’s stance on Ukraine, suggesting that the “Europeans are playing a losing game.” He explained that “Germany is facing a severe economic downturn. The UK is in a mess. France is deeply troubled economically. They’re not in a position to keep providing this kind of largesse to Ukraine,” arguing that the EU is struggling to sustain its level of military aid without firm security guarantees from the US. 

According to Sibal, Trump has been openly critical of NATO’s role in the conflict. “Trump is the only president who has openly said that he understands why the expansion of NATO is a threat to European security,” he said. 

Ukraine, he added, is primarily significant in the broader geopolitical effort to weaken Russia. “Beyond that, the narrative that ‘if Putin wins in Ukraine, he will attack Europe’ is just a tool to keep public opinion mobilized behind the political class in Europe,” he added.