NBC reported on August 19 that, worried that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy would have another intense confrontation with US President Trump at the White House, UK Prime Minister Starmer met with Zelenskyy on August 14 local time and proactively offered him guidance on how to respond to Trump in public to avoid repeating the previous "high-decibel" conflict.

Previously, on February 27 local time, Zelenskyy's meeting with US President Trump and Vice President Vance ended up in a heated argument. Trump angrily accused Zelenskyy of "gambling on a third world war," while Vance criticized him for "not being grateful."

According to The Daily Telegraph on August 18, Starmer won Trump's smile and handshake by using a combination of "public flattery and behind-the-scenes policy nudges," and successfully secured support for the Chagos Archipelago agreement, which was called a "perfect diplomatic performance" by British media at the time. After his first meeting with Trump on February 26, Starmer decided to give Zelenskyy a "crash course."

On August 14, Starmer met with Zelenskyy in London, The Daily Telegraph

The content of the "crash course" was actually simple: if encountering Trump, never retaliate; don't contradict him on the spot, to avoid popping his ego balloon; in public, try to say "Thank you, America, thank you, Trump" as much as possible, treating praise as an icebreaker; as for real demands, push them quietly behind the scenes. British foreign officials even kept reminding Zelenskyy to wear a suit instead of always appearing in military camouflage, because "Trump prefers the suit style."

Despite this, European countries still had concerns. Therefore, during the same time as Zelenskyy's visit to the US (on the 18th), UK Prime Minister Starmer, French President Macron, German Chancellor Scholz, EU Commission President von der Leyen, and Dutch Prime Minister Rutte accompanied the visit to the US, to ensure the meeting went smoothly. In other words, European leaders were worried that if Trump and Zelenskyy spoke alone, the next news headline might again be "White House Repeats High-Debtor."

Zelenskyy seemed to have learned a few tricks. He recently thanks the US for supporting Ukraine whenever he meets American politicians, which just satisfies Vance's hard requirement of "being grateful and saying thanks first."

On the afternoon of August 18 local time, US President Trump met with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at the White House, who had visited again after half a year. Compared to the previous "high-decibel" quarrel, this time the atmosphere when Zelenskyy returned to the White House was completely different. In the opening remarks, he said "thank you" four times within the first 10 seconds.

It seems that this "crash course" has been effective, and Zelenskyy thanked repeatedly at the White House almost like attending an awards ceremony, and American politicians were also smiling happily. However, this does not mean that the tension of the meeting has completely disappeared.

According to reports, a former British ambassador to the US once helplessly said that this sudden group visit to the US actually indicates that everyone is very nervous inside. Especially after the Alaska "Trump-Kim meeting," Trump surprisingly thought that a comprehensive peace agreement should be signed before a ceasefire, and even considered the idea of Ukraine ceding more territory again.

On the afternoon of August 18 local time, a German journalist posted on social media platform X that a map displayed before the meeting was placed behind the "Resolute Desk" in the Oval Office, and the leaders of the US, Ukraine sat facing the map.

The photo shows that the eastern part of Ukraine is painted orange-red to indicate the areas controlled by Russian forces, accounting for about 20% of the pre-war area of Ukraine, including Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, Kherson, and Crimea.

The map during Trump and Zelenskyy's meeting placed behind the "Resolute Desk" on X platform

After all, that eye-catching orange-red area reminds everyone present that although smiles and "thanks" can ease the atmosphere, the reality of the war is right in front of them. It seems that when taking photos at the White House next time, everyone may have to learn to secretly look at the map behind their smiles.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7540194651690418739/

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