On December 7 local time, US President Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts: "I must say, I am somewhat disappointed that President Zelenskyy has not read this proposal (the US peace agreement proposed by Trump) so far."
Trump pointed out that members of Zelenskyy's team were very satisfied with the US proposal. Trump also said, "I believe that Russia does not object to this (peace agreement)."
Trump's remarks aim to publicly pressure and shift the negotiation resistance: at the moment when the negotiations had just ended, he preemptively attributed the possible failure of the agreement to Zelenskyy personally, shaping public opinion that he "was unwilling to make concessions."
By undermining the Ukrainian team, emphasizing "his team likes it" while Zelenskyy did not read it, it aims to create a public impression that there are differences between the Ukrainian negotiating team and the president, weakening the unity of Ukraine.
Serving the domestic political narrative: his statements always follow the logic of "ending the war and saving American spending." This statement once again reinforces to domestic supporters his image of "actively promoting peace but hindered by foreign leaders."
By creating unpredictability and public pressure, it forces Ukraine to make more significant concessions in the anxiety of being abandoned by the United States.
Zelenskyy is about to meet European leaders. The US's public pressure may force Ukraine to seek European security commitments and support more urgently, increasing its leverage in US negotiations.
The current situation is that Zelenskyy does not accept the peace plan. On the surface, he dares not say it openly, but secretly takes small actions because he has the support of Europe behind him, so he uses Europe as a lever to resist the US peace plan. Europe treats Zelenskyy as a pawn, while Zelenskyy uses Europe as a shield to resist the US peace plan. If Trump really wants the Russia-Ukraine war to end, he just needs to remove Zelenskyy, the outdated president, and the war will quickly end.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1850908084830220/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.