European leaders 'shocked' by Trump’s incompetence in war dialogue, Ukrainian diplomat reveals

He shared this during a broadcast on Espreso TV.

“The best way to assess the conversation between Trump and Putin, which took place yesterday, May 19, is by the reaction of European leaders. Immediately after this conversation, they communicated with Trump online. According to witnesses, the leaders of European countries were first surprised and then shocked. What surprised Ursula von der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Friedrich Merz, and Giorgia Meloni? It was Donald Trump's helplessness and incapacity during this conversation. What Trump told them indicated that only about a quarter of the conversation actually touched on the topic of the war, while most of the time was spent veering off into various unrelated issues – and these diversions were consistently initiated by the U.S. President,” Bezsmertnyi noted.

According to him, the five European leaders had agreed on a position regarding a 30-day ceasefire with a potential extension, as well as on how to respond to Putin’s refusal. However, Trump, due to his inability to conduct political dialogue, could not even react properly and instead accepted utterly senseless proposals made by the Russian leader.

“In Istanbul, thanks to a well-structured case and dialogue, European politicians had effectively cornered Putin. All that remained for Trump was to make a firm demand for a 30-day ceasefire. And upon Putin’s refusal, the U.S. President should have immediately announced joint sanctions to be imposed by both Europe and the U.S. But what shocked the Europeans even more was that Trump told them imposing sanctions would be premature. His suggestions that the U.S. might step away from the process and hand it over to the Vatican were nothing more than an attempt to justify his own weakness while trying to remain involved. Based on yesterday’s conversation, it is clear that Donald Trump is incapable of leading this dialogue due to his utter incompetence,” the diplomat commented.

In his opinion, the Europeans will now have to continue developing the strategy and tactics of this dialogue on their own. Trump should only be included when deemed necessary—and even then, only with clear instructions, as in previous cases.

“It is becoming increasingly evident that in the coming days, several proposals will be developed regarding the next steps. This may be addressed in a joint meeting—possibly involving the U.S., Ukraine, Russia, and the EU, or perhaps in another configuration. This was actively discussed in Europe yesterday in response to the helplessness Trump displayed not only in the phone call but also by refusing to engage in further coordinated actions with European leaders,” Bezsmertnyi concluded.

• On May 19, U.S. President Donald Trump had a telephone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Trump said that Russia and Ukraine would immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire and end the war. The U.S. president also spoke with Zelenskyy.