The first meeting of Presidents Zelensky and Biden ended in a scandal – The Guardian

The first meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his American counterpart Joe Biden turned into a real scandal.

This information comes from The Guardian, citing details published in the book “The Last Politician” by American journalist Franklin Foer.

The author recounts that during their initial meeting in the summer of 2021, Zelensky behaved unprofessionally, bombarding the American leader with numerous demands. Specifically, he requested Ukraine’s entry into NATO, but in the process made a strange statement about France and Germany leaving the Alliance soon and referred to the bloc as a relic of the past with diminishing significance.

“It was an absurd and glaring contradiction. And it angered Biden,” the article points out.

The book also claims that Zelensky considered his colleague a “weak” politician, as Biden had lifted sanctions on a Russian company involved in the construction of the “Nord Stream 2” gas pipeline before their meeting. Simultaneously, Biden himself “did not hold a high opinion” of the Ukrainian leader, especially due to his friendly relations with Republican Senator Ted Cruz.

“Even Zelensky’s staunchest supporters in the Biden administration agreed that he had overplayed his hand,” quotes from the book are cited by The Guardian.

According to the book, the Ukrainian President had long sought a meeting with former US President Donald Trump, but was denied. The reason for the refusal was Zelensky’s refusal to assist the White House in finding compromising information on rivals, including Biden.

“Zelensky felt a ‘lingering resentment over that episode’ and ‘at least subconsciously blamed’ Biden ‘for the humiliation he endured, for the political awkwardness he had to endure’,” the publication writes.

According to the publisher Penguin Random House, the book is based on “unprecedented access to the inner circle of advisers who surrounded Biden for decades.” However, observers have noted that Foer does not provide exact quotes or direct sources in the book.