“We will see a different Trump in a year” — Ukrainian diplomat

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine Valeriy Chalyi, Chairman of the Board of Ukraine Crisis Media Center, expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

"We were concerned — and it's true — that the U.S. and Donald Trump might trade Ukraine for Putin’s support on Iran. That didn’t happen. Donald Trump simply rejected Putin’s proposal on Iran and didn’t trade Ukraine. He said, 'Help me there, with Russia.' And that, by the way, was quite unexpected. But why did it happen this way? Because Putin has no leverage there. And when he tried to act, he was rejected not only by Trump but also by Ayatollah Khamenei. So, Putin doesn’t have the tools the Soviet Union once had. Yet he acts as if he's the head of the Soviet Union. And that’s a bluff. And Trump is seeing through this bluff more and more. And he’s surprised. Why does Putin keep playing this game without any real cards, except for nuclear weapons, when he could get out without losing everything? It puzzles him, because Trump is a pragmatic businessman. But Putin has a completely different approach. He’s taken a one-way ticket. Either he dies, or he wins — because if he loses, his own people will tear him apart. That’s the Russian tradition: a blow to the head with a snuffbox, and that’s it," he said.

Valeriy Chalyi believes that U.S. President Donald Trump might not serve as a mediator in negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, but could potentially become a participant in the negotiation process on Ukraine’s side.

"That's why he has this idea that he has dragged us all, Europe, into a war. So this is worse than a crime. This is just a person who has historically made a personal mistake. So as a result of this, we may have a more courageous Trump. And I would like, I will tell you honestly, to have not a mediating Trump, but a participating Trump on our side. Is it possible? I think so. Not because of Donald Trump, but because of the United States. And because there are U.S. national interests. And as we approach the mid-term congressional elections and more of this speculative calm reaction, you have seen that Donald Trump can be quite predictable, calm and confident. I mean, at the NATO summit. And I'll tell you another thing, the threat to Donald Trump is now growing, to remove him from office. Not from the Democrats, but from the right-wing radicals. So he will defend himself against this, and I think we will see a different Donald Trump in a year," the diplomat said.

• U.S. President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on June 25 during the NATO summit in The Hague.