Zelensky's baptism of fire into the real world of politics has begun.

In my very first blog post (21 June, 2014), I wrote that,

"Now Scythian women are really not to be messed with.  As Hippocrates warned, “They [Sarmatian (or Scythian) women] have no right breasts…for while they are yet babies their mothers make red-hot a bronze instrument constructed for this very purpose and apply it to the right breast and cauterize it, so that its growth is arrested, and all its strength and bulk are diverted to the right shoulder and right arm." (c.f. Hippocrates "Memories of Scythia")

Whether true or not, as reported by Anastasia Sakovska and Michael Scollon,

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy inserted foot firmly in mouth during his presidential tour of Europe this week when he said his nation's women were "beautiful" and served as a good tourism "brand" for the country.

He returned to a Twitter firestorm, after Ukrainian women made their disappointment with the comedian-turned-president clear with a raft of posts under the social-media hashtags #янетуристичнийбренд (#Iamnotyourtourismbrand) and #янебренд (#Iamnotyourbrand)." (RFERL : 20 June 2019) (my emphasis)

It is not only this "twitter storm" that met him on his return to Ukraine after his whirlwind tour around the EU but also some critical questions about, in particular, his tête-à-tête with Angela Merkel that resulted in Merkel proclaiming,

"At a joint press conference, Merkel backed Zelenskiy's remarks that sanctions against Russia — imposed for its illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and its role in an insurgency in eastern Ukraine — must remain in place.

"As long as there is no progress on this front [Minsk 2], the sanctions cannot be lifted, and the sanctions related to Crimea can only be lifted if Crimea returns to Ukraine," Merkel said." (DW : 18 June 2019) (my emphasis)

Let us remind ourselves, as Vladimir Frolov of 'The Moscow Times' reported, that,

"[Zelinsky believes that] talks with Moscow should take place in the presence of Western mediators, and the Normandy format should be remodeled to include the United States and Great Britain in a "Budapest style format" (The Moscow Times : 24 April, 2019) (my emphasis)

So how does this square with Macron's version of the Normandy format i.e. to be composed ONLY of Zelensky, Putin, Merkel, and himself? 

Furthermore, Merkel and Macron are now of the opinion that,

" .... the withdrawal of Russian forces, disarmament of local proxy forces and restoration of Ukrainian control along the border, are merely defined as aspirations, rather than indispensable preconditions to any “elections” in Donetsk-Luhansk (Vladimir Socor :Ukrinform, April 12, 13) (my emphasis)

But yesterday (20 June 2019), during his annual Q&A session broadcast by Russian media outlets, Putin stated that,

"What is happening now? While abroad in Paris, he [Zelensky] said that he was not going to talk to separatists. And how then to solve this problem?" Putin said.
...
Putin then accused the Ukrainian side of the fact that the economic blockade of the occupied territories of the Donbas has not been lifted. 
...
Putin also described Zelensky as a "talented man" and said that what he did during KVN humor TV shows in the 2000s was "talented and funny," but what Zelensky is doing now is "not funny." (Ukrinform : 21 June, 2019) (my emphasis)

Underlying Putin's not unsubtle threat may be the fact that,

• European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to prolong until the end of January 2020 economic sanctions against Russia over the turmoil in Ukraine, a spokesman for the bloc said.
  (UNIAN : 20 June 2019) (my emphasis) and that, 
• The U.S. Department of Defense says it plans to provide $250 million to enhance Ukraine’s military capabilities as the nation continues to battle Russia-backed separatists in its eastern regions. (RFERL : 18 June 2019) (my emphasis)

Zelensky is now confronted with the seething of Ukraine's women against his 'foot in mouth' remark about their being "a Ukrainian brand", as well as with Putin's 'unhappiness' [ read: anger!] at Zelensky's statements that he would NOT talk to Putin's rebels in the Donbas.

 

 In April of this year, Ivan Aparshin (right), his military adviser on security and defense issues warned, 

 

"I would not recommend the Ukrainian president to meet face to face with Putin," Aparshin told ZIK TV channel, noting that Zelensky’s talks with the Russian leader should involve representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom.
...

"We cannot be one-on-one with Russia because then we won’t solve this problem," he noted." (TASS : 24 April, 2019) (my emphasis)

 It would now seem, however, that Merkel and Macron have advised Zelensky otherwise.

 Zelensky's baptism of fire into the real world of politics has begun.

(to be continued)