“Ukraine Does Have Such a Secret Weapon”: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Discusses Zelenskyy’s Influence on Trump
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Georgiy Tykhyi, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has, on more than one occasion, managed to get Trump to change his rhetoric regarding Ukraine following meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Tikhyi spoke about this in an interview with "Shelter," which will be released soon on the publication's YouTube channel.
“This shift in dynamics began in the Vatican. It was there, during the president’s brief, 20-minute meeting with Trump, that he somehow managed—emotionally, I don’t know how—to convey the right messages to him,” noted the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to him, that was the first time Trump walked out of a meeting with Zelenskyy and changed his rhetoric.
“Everyone remembers that. Well, especially against the backdrop, of course, of the Oval Office—that infamous one at the beginning, yes, the one that shocked everyone,” Tykhyi noted.
He recalled several other meetings between Zelenskyy and Trump.
“Remember the president’s meeting with Donald Trump in New York at the UN General Assembly last year, when Trump subsequently tweeted about a ‘paper tiger’ and claimed that Russia could be defeated there, and all the rest,” Tykhyi noted.
I didn’t expect it back then. I remember that we were sitting in that little room. There’s a—well, a Ukrainian room at the UN where negotiations take place, and a small preparation room in the back. The president happened to be nearby. He walked over to us; we were sitting there together. I remember saying, “Volodymyr Oleksandrovych, how do you do it? Every time you meet with him, afterward the person comes out a different person and starts speaking differently. What are you doing with him in there?” Well, he just smiled; he didn’t give away the secret
Heorhiy Tykhyi Spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In his opinion, Zelenskyy has a unique ability to influence those he speaks with.
“I think that, well, he really does have this interesting ability to personally influence those he speaks with. Indeed, he has very strong energy, and he somehow, well, has this personal, charismatic influence on those he speaks with. We’ve noticed this many times. That’s why Ukraine—and Ukrainian diplomacy—has this secret weapon: a president who pushes through even the most difficult decisions and changes the minds of even the skeptics,” Tykhyi noted.
As a reminder, Zelenskyy recently cited an event that proved pivotal in his relationship with Trump.
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Svitlana Sheremetieva Editor-in-Chief
All materialsShe has been working in journalism since 2013. Before founding “Shelter,” she served as editor-in-chief of the online media outlet “Apostrophe” and as deputy general director of the RBC-Ukraine news agency.