Karin Eriksson: A failure that can have horrific consequences

When, if ever, has international negotiations failed in live broadcast in a similar way? When, if ever, has an American president devoted himself to equally raw power language?

Months of growing tensions exploded in the Oval space, when US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance hut for the guest from Ukraine. Time and time again, they urged Zelenskyj to show more respect and gratitude.

Instead, Ukraine's president continued with his more low -key objections. His crime: That he tried to talk about his experiences of making agreements with Russian President Vladimir Putin. That he and his people have learned the hard way how Putin is not a man to trust.

The plan was to zeskkyj Would go to the White House and sign a mineral agreement that – right or wrong – portrayed Trump as the winner in the war in Ukraine. The pressure from the new Trump administration has not been beautiful to follow – you can talk about mafia methods or imperialism – but Kiev had something to pick up on the settlement. The idea was to secure continued American involvement in Ukraine, by giving the White House a direct financial interest.

Leaders in Europe have tried to pave the way for the settlement. During the week, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer has made courtesy visits and kept good mine in the White House.

Zelenskyj could not hypocrisy and bow. You can call the Ukrainian leader brave or foolish or realist. Maybe everything at the same time.

The result was a historical accident. Zelenskyj left the White House without an agreement. The press conference was canceled. Instead, Trump announced on the « Truth Social » platform that the president is not ready for peace and that Zelenskyj has shown a call against the United States and the Oval Room.

The message from Trump To zeskmyj in front of the cameras and microphones in the oval room were even more brutal: either you agree to an agreement, or we pull out.

When Zelenskyj fought against, he was accused of allowing soldiers to be slaughtered on the battlefields and bringing the world towards a third world war.

These messages come from an American president who refuses to say a bad word about Russia. When Trump talks about Vladimir Putin, it sounds like he describes an old ally and friend.

He claims he refuses to choose a side. In practice, he has chosen Putin. The Russian president wins when the West is divided. The liberal world order crumbles in real time. « This will be good TV, » Trump sums up, in an as breathtaking as banal cynicism.