By Anjan Roy
If you wanted to know the exact meaning of the English proverb “bearding the lion in its lair”, you should have seen the Oval Office meeting when an embattled president from a small, beleaguered country fought up to the grimaces and attacks from an immeasurably more powerful —what was meant to be — ally.
The open spat between Volodomyr Zelensky, Ukraine president, and the US presidency in the holiest of holies —the Oval Office of the US President last Friday has damaged most of all the myth around the so-called the most powerful man on earth. The incident was unprecedented in the diplomatic history of modern times.
The weak and ravaged by an unsparing war with a much more powerful neighbour, Ukraine president has shown himself to be a resolute figure. He stood up to the bullying by the most powerful man in his own den and then refused to be cowered. The message: Driven to a corner, you can pick up a fight with the US president in his very office.
His opponents, US president, has been found out to be almost a broker for the Russians and a coward in the fear of possible consequences of a Russian opposition. His vice president of the United States even worse, as poodle of a power driven deal maker and no more.
Straight on, US in the risk of messing up a lucrative deal. It is huge agreement for developing and sharing Ukraine’s rare minerals for American industries and defence sector. It looks as though the US would have to start the talks for securing these minerals once again after the tempers ease..
If on the surface, Ukraine has lost US support in his fight against Russian aggression, it would be much more an uphill task for the US president to be a craven supplicator to the Russian president Vladimir Putin.
While the Russians celebrated the apparent humiliation of their most indefatigable opponent, they should know it would not be long before they would face an even more insurmountable problem. The US to prove its credentials would no longer be able to follow an abject Russian line.
On the other hand, the behaviour of the US president and his cronies had driven the whole of western European to openly backing Ukraine. Even Italian prime minister, Grigoria Meloni, who was none too enthusiastic supporter of the Ukrainian cause, had turned round.
Whole of Europe is coalescing into supporting and standing behind Ukraine, which until now was a divided house. There would still be outliers, like Hungary, who are opposed to supporting Ukraine until recently. However, their voices would likely be drowned in castigation of US position and support for Ukraine.
This was waiting to happen. Ever since his re-election, Donald Trump had been moving from being insolent to more insolent. In his joint press conference with French President, Emmanuel Macron, Donald Trump had been in his usual best to spread misinformation.
As he was waxing eloquence about US alone having paid money and weapons to Ukraine, the French president could cut him short and corrected Trump’s misinformation.
Following up that meeting, the US president openly insulted the British prime minister quipping if Britain could singlehandedly face up to the Russians. The US president’s snide question to the visiting British prime minister had elicited ringing laughter from across the room. Avoiding a possible brush, Sir Keir Starmer had also joined in.
Whatever happens to Ukraine, the world would now stand a little askance about American promises and American support. No one would really trust America in a deal. This could also be a requiem for the transAtlantic treaty — NATO in Europe.
Or possibly seeing the reality on the ground and their helpless weaknesses, the Europeans would once again rather sheepishly come round to modifying the megalomanic ego of the American president and curl up to him for support.
Eighty years back an iron curtain had fallen across Europe. In a way, a thick fog is now descending over and across the Atlantic following which traditional friends — the Americans and the West Europeans — might not be able to recognise each other for at least another four years. Thereafter, what will happen no one knows. (IPA Service)
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