Like the legendary film-maker D W Griffith's famous phrase, "lights, camera, action", the media set the stage for the live broadcast of the much-publicised meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last week.
But in the blink of an eye, everything changed, and the entire world was shocked by the public spat between the two leaders, making the scene resemble what a body language expert described as a "dramatic episode of a political soap opera."
This rare occurrence in the world of diplomacy came during growing tensions between Washington and Kyiv over Trump's efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Under normal circumstances, leaders of countries meet after advisers and diplomats from their respective nations hold discussions and reach an agreement on summit issues. In contrast, reports indicated that heads of state were taken directly to the summit instead of taking necessary actions.
During the meeting, Trump not only accused Zelensky of being "disrespectful", but also cautioned the Ukrainian President, "You have no right to dictate what we should feel. You're gambling with World War III, and what you're doing is very disrespectful to this country."
These heated exchanges occurred just a few months after Trump met Zelensky at his New York base in Trump Tower in September of last year, when he stated that it was time to settle Russia's war in Ukraine.
As NBC News reported, this extraordinary scene left Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, who was in the room, holding her head in her hands, an image that went viral. Following the exchange, Trump cancelled the scheduled press conference with Zelensky and ended the negotiations.
History has shown that many former US presidents have had plenty of tense exchanges with their allies, but all have occurred in private, and as analysts pointed out, "never like this". US foreign policy is also based on the firm belief that democratic states are better allies and better trading partners.
However, the fact is that many believe Trump deliberately created public controversy. They think this is a drama that Trump orchestrated to humiliate Zelensky. Trump's intentions are evident from his argument that the United States has already provided $350 billion in aid and his statement the other day that Ukraine should not seek Nato membership. Conversely, Zelensky sought membership in the European security alliance to protect himself from Russian threats.
For Trump, Russia appears to be a powerful country with which the US can strike a deal, whereas Ukraine is a less powerful nation that may not have a seat at the table or a sympathetic ear in the White House.
In response to Zelensky's inquiry about what security guarantees the US would provide to Ukraine if it does not join Nato, Trump conveyed that Ukraine would be safe as long as American companies conducted business there.
In contrast, Nato countries have provided Ukraine with €267 billion in military and non-military aid during the past three years of conflict, with only half of that amount coming from European nations.
Reports indicate that in recent months, Zelensky has asserted that no ceasefire or peace agreement would be possible without security commitments from European countries and the US to help arm and protect Ukraine from Russia.
However, experts believe that Zelensky may have utilised the technique during the Oval Office meeting as a power move to align with Trump and avoid appearing weaker in his confrontation with him.
The bottom line, many believe, like Griffith s phrase is, Zelensky is at the centre of a film scripted, directed and produced by the West, while Trump is making a different movie. So, the camera will continue rolling!
The writer is a freelance journalist and author who worked in Oman and India
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