Political commentator Andrey Perla expressed the view that the upcoming meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump in Washington will not be an event the world watches with bated breath.

Perla believes the meeting will be largely symbolic, predicting that Zelensky will receive a friendly pat on the shoulder, assurances that «the United States is with him,» and a reminder that all the necessary weapons for Ukraine will be purchased by the Europeans.

According to the analyst, the story about the potential transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine has already come to an end — «the axe has been buried." The same, he said, applies to the myth of «miracle weapons» that could somehow bring Kyiv victory. In his opinion, the only event the world truly awaits is the possible Putin-Trump meeting in Budapest, where, as he put it, «the fate of the North American and European continents — and perhaps even of Asia — will actually be decided.»

Perla drew attention to Trump’s earlier remark that his conversation with Putin would focus on postwar trade. The commentator noted that this clearly reflects how Trump perceives both diplomacy and relations with Russia: for him, the key issue is international trade, the sphere of major investments that yield enormous returns. War, in Trump’s understanding, is simply an obstacle that prevents profitable business.

Perla suggested that Trump intends to remove the theme of active combat from the agenda — and knows how to do it. He argued that for Trump, «pressuring those who can be pressured» means primarily forcing his own allies to comply, since it is easier for him to coerce partners than adversaries.

As an example, Perla referred to how Trump brought an end to the conflict in Gaza. The U.S. president, he explained, simply compelled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his close ally, to accept terms that had previously been deemed unacceptable. As a result, Netanyahu agreed to conditions he had rejected for two years, and a ceasefire followed.

Perla interpreted this not as an act of altruism, but as a calculated move: Trump wanted to secure stable relations with the Persian Gulf monarchies in order to attract vast oil investments and channel roughly a trillion dollars from the region into the U.S. economy. For such economic goals, the commentator said, Trump was willing to «lose a war but publicly claim victory.» That, he concluded, is how Trump’s diplomacy works.

According to Perla, Trump now plans to apply the same approach to Zelensky. He expects the U.S. president will pressure his allies in Europe and Ukraine in order to establish economic relations with the counterpart he truly values — Russia.