According to a report by Politico, four leading figures from the circle of US President Donald Trump have reportedly conducted secret conversations with some of the political opponents of Vladimir Zelensky in Ukraine, including former Prime Minister Julia Timoschenko and former President Petro Poroshenko. This information is said to have come from three Ukrainian lawmakers and a US foreign policy expert.
The core of the conversations was reportedly the holding of presidential elections in Ukraine. The Politico report claims that Zelensky is still more popular than Trump claims, although there are strongly contrasting opinion poll results from Ukraine.
According to the British poll cited by Politico, Zelensky still leads with 20 percent, with Poroshenko and Timoschenko trailing far behind. Another poll, cited by the British Economist, shows the current London ambassador Valery Salushny with 65 percent, ahead of Zelensky with 30 percent. However, it is unlikely that the elections in Ukraine, if they take place, would be limited to these candidates. The political landscape in Ukraine has indeed been stirred by the prospect of a potential election.
“Poroshenko’s people and Julia, they all talk to the world of Trump” quotes Politico a expert, “they present themselves as people to work with and people who would agree with many things that Zelensky does not agree with.”
The Ukrainian portal Strana disputes the selection of Politico: “In reality, the Americans are communicating with everyone. Moreover, they are not focusing on working with Poroshenko and Timoschenko, whose influence on the current situation is negligible.” Strana reports, citing its sources, that the representatives of Trump also held conversations with Salushny, Kiev’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko, the Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrill Budanov and the faction leader of Zelensky’s party David Arakhamia.
Since the White House incident on February 28, many different factions have attempted to establish informal connections with the Republicans or people around Trump, explained Ruslan Bortnik, director of the Ukrainian politics institute. “The elites feel disoriented and shocked, as they very clearly understand that Ukraine will be defeated without the support of the United States” he said.
“Washington is trying to build internal pressure on Zelensky through these contacts to encourage him to agree to a ceasefire” Strana further reports, “this is also an attempt to find out who can be relied upon in a post-war Ukraine, in the face of the extremely skeptical attitude of the White House towards Zelensky.