Zelenski bruises but optimistic after diplomatic vortex

“The bruised but motivated,” was how one of Voladimir Zelenski’s entourage describes how they felt, as a small group of journalists were stuffing in what he felt like a smaller room at Stanstad Airport.

The British state had done everything possible to give the Ukrainian president “all bells and whistles” when it arrived in the UK for a summit with 18 world leaders after his Dress up from Donald Trump and JD Vance on Friday night, A government source told me.

He shared a hug with Sir Kiir Starmer outside No 10, where he was greeted with spontaneously cheered crowds and I met with King Charles for tea.

But it was said that after 90 minutes before the wheels of his plane climbed when he went home, Zelenski wanted to go to the recording to make his arguments to the world – this time he speaks only to Ukrainian – to make sure he was not misunderstood.

After being stuck in the White House, then evaporated in the UK, his mood, at least in public, was not reduced.

“If we do not maintain our mood, we leave everyone,” he said.

He made positive noises around Sir Keyer’s plan and French President Emmanuel Macron to catch up for peace plans Before presenting them to the United States, Europe increases its game, developing its more convincing security guarantees.

Zelenski told me He would be ready to give Donald Trump one of his demands – To sign the mineral deal to give US access to any of Ukraine’s resources.

Beyond that, despite all the pressure of a three -year war, under all the White House demands, which, fairly or not, has the power to defend or abandon its country, on Sunday night Zelenski stood firmly.

He told us that at this stage he was not right to discuss refusal in territory Russia had caught and was too early to “talk about lines” that the prime minister mentioned earlier.

He would not apologize to Trump or regretted something that has happened in the oval office, which is currently calling for the camp of US President many times.

Even NATO chief called on Zelenski to find a way to reset his relationship with the US leader.

Still, there was not much in the tone of Zelenski in the clogged room in Stansted, which suggested he was interested in doing pleasant.

He said he had traveled for hours to get to the White House – his visit is a sign of respect. He also said that he would never “offend anyone” and the conversation, as he exploded, was not positive for anyone.

Zelenski chose his words very carefully. He tried to the extent to avoid after death from what happened. He was not rude to Trump – he barely mentioned it by name – and suggested that the tension would pass.

If you I watched the full horror of what happened in the oval office You may not blame Zelenski, that he felt that he was simply not herself to say regret.

If you listen to him that he talks about what happened to his side, you can understand why at this stage he feels so impossible to recognize compromises, he may need to end the war.

Looking at him personally talking about the violence and suffering that is unleashed, you feel his full disbelief that someone may not see the world in his own way, where the aggression of Russia means that Putin should not be spared a punishment and his men must be protected at all costs.

But reality? Neither Zelenski nor any Western leader have so far convinced Trump to accept this moral clarity in this war. And even if it is painful, without the desire to compromise, it is difficult to see an end to this war.

However, Zelenski is a chief communicator – a real, indisputable, but also a trading contractor.

“Our freedoms and values ​​are not sold,” a message for without the show Zelensky wanted to communicate, along with the desire to sign the mineral deal.

He again expressed his gratitude for the support of the US and other countries. But do not forget at the moment, for all the meetings we have with the leaders participating in the audience, there are so many more between them and their teams behind closed doors.

Just when the conversation ends, the suggestion that Macron and Sir Keyer are offering a one -month truce as part of their peace plan has reached my phone.

Whether President Zelenski knew and would agree with such a deal, I asked.

“I am aware of everything,” he joked and laughed in the room, and then offered handshake and pictures of going out to the plane.

He may want to have the last word at the end of a dramatic and difficult weekend. But the conversation about this conflict has been many weeks, if not many months.