"Screaming prices" that are unbelievably high, forcing the other party to "lower the price" but still have to pay a "high price" when reaching an agreement is the method that US President Donald Trump is applying in resolving the Ukraine conflict.
On February 28 (US time), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington DC to hold talks with President Trump regarding a mineral exploitation cooperation agreement between the two sides, as part of the roadmap to find peace in the Ukraine conflict.
President Zelensky during his meeting with Mr. Trump in September 2024
MR. RUMP 'S POWER
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on February 27 before leaving for the US, Mr. Zelensky said the framework of the agreement had been reached, but did not include US security guarantees, which Kyiv considers important. According to him, the full details of the agreement may depend on negotiations in Washington DC.
Looking back at the journey to this agreement, on February 13, the US revealed a phone call between President Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about a peaceful solution for Ukraine. The solution was revealed to be based on a "realistic assessment of the battlefield", and at the same time, Washington signaled that there was no need for the presence of Europe or Ukraine when negotiating with Russia.
In addition, President Trump also "accused" Ukraine and the West of causing the conflict to erupt, even criticizing Mr. Zelensky as a "dictator". Later, although admitting that Russia attacked Ukraine, the White House owner still said that Mr. Zelensky and Western leaders did not prevent the war from breaking out. In addition, speaking at the Munich Security Forum (Germany), US Vice President JD Vance strongly criticized Europe. The US's moves put both Europe and Ukraine at risk of being "left out" of the agreement to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
In parallel, Mr. Trump proposed that Kyiv sign a cooperation agreement with Washington in mining minerals, especially rare earths, in Ukraine. Mr. Trump said that this agreement would allow the US to recover the money it spent on Ukraine during the conflict with Russia. Mr. Trump even said that he would collect 500 billion USD through this agreement, while Ukraine considered the initial proposal of the agreement to be unfeasible.
Over-demanding in search of the best interests
Responding to Thanh Nien , an American military intelligence expert, who used to head NATO's intelligence unit in the Balkans, commented: "Through the way Mr. Trump expressed himself, we can see part of his familiar negotiation tactics. That is, making unexpected statements, then switching from praise to insult and vice versa. It seems that President Trump believes that in negotiations, demanding more than is possible will open the door to getting the best possible from the other side."
In fact, after a period of "bargaining" back and forth, President Zelensky had to agree to the above framework even without the provision of security guarantees for Ukraine as Kyiv wanted. At the same time, European leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron had to go to the US to find ways to appease Mr. Trump, and at the same time advocate for Europe not to be "left out" in the Ukraine issue. Next, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also went to the US to meet Mr. Trump on February 27 (Washington DC time) with the same purpose of finding a common voice.
Not only that, European countries have also announced increases in their defense budgets in response to Mr. Trump's request to contribute more to European security in general, or the Ukraine issue in particular.
Meanwhile, in a television interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin, although appreciating the White House's moves, was still cautious, saying that the Ukraine conflict would be unlikely to end as soon as Mr. Trump wanted.
Russia-China relations reach unprecedented level
* US increases taxes on China
The Global Times reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping received Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Beijing on February 28.
Noting that China and Russia are friendly neighbors and true friends, Xi said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have communicated twice this year, outlined overall plans for the development of China-Russia relations and had in-depth exchanges on a range of important international and regional issues.
Mr. Shoigu also affirmed that Moscow highly values sincere friendship and close relations with Mr. Xi. According to Mr. Shoigu, the relationship between Russia and China has reached an unprecedented high level.
* President Trump said on February 27 that he would maintain the plan to impose a 25% tax on Canada and Mexico, while increasing the tax on goods from China by 10%. The new tax on Chinese goods will be added to the 10% tax that was applied from February 4, meaning that the US has added import tax on China twice since Mr. Trump took office. In addition, Mr. Trump also announced that he would maintain the plan to impose a 25% tax on Canada and Mexico, which is expected to take effect from March 4. The new tax on China will also take effect on the same day.
Minh Hung
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thu-thuat-dam-phan-het-gia-cua-tong-thong-trump-1852502282307438.htm
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