How to take Trump's victory
"Calm down... The main thing is that the democratic choice of the American people has been made. And we should be ready to work with any US president, regardless of their name or political affiliation.
For us, bipartisan support has always been the concrete, the basis for allied relations with the United States. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to promote and strengthen this bipartisan support, and to fill it with concrete content," Yeliseyev said.
He also noted that decisions, in particular in the Senate [where Republicans have strengthened their majority], are not made by a simple majority. In some cases, they require 60% of the votes, so there is still some possibility of a checks and balances system.
In addition, Kostyantyn Yeliseyev mentioned an interesting detail: it was during the time of Donald Trump and the Republican administration that Ukraine once received a tomos of autocephaly for the Ukrainian church.
"They helped us a lot. The US State Department's Special Representative for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback, came to Ukraine a lot and helped us a lot," the diplomat said, without going into details.
And the fact that the newly elected American president is "a preacher of the strategy of uncertainty" in a sense plays into Ukraine's hands, Yeliseyev noted.
"Because Putin does not understand what to expect from him [Trump]. And that’s a good thing. Some say that he loves Putin. There is such a thing. But do you remember in 2023 when he said that "Putin is a smart guy, but he made a catastrophic mistake"? This outraged Russians at the time. So we need to work calmly and impose our narrative," the ambassador said.
"And let's not forget that it was under Trump that we started the idea that President Zelensky has now supported - peace through strength. I think this concept needs to be developed," Yeliseyev added.
How to build communication with the new government
According to Kostyantyn Yeliseyev, a lot will depend on the team that the new president will form. On the other hand, as was the case during the last term, when Trump changed four national security advisers and two secretaries of state, there may be a periodic rotation of the team, which should also be treated with understanding and adjusted to.
With Trump himself, the diplomat notes from his own experience, it is important to build a relationship of trust "and many things can be solved on trust". Yeliseyev adds that the Republican is a business-oriented person, and it is important to speak to him in a simple and understandable language.
"When we were preparing our theses, we spoke to him in short sentences and avoided obscure phrases. If, for example, we talked about Crimea, we didn't use the word 'annexation', he doesn't understand it, with all due respect to him. We said it directly: Putin stole Crimea. The word "stole" is a shock for him as a business-oriented person. Stolen is not normal. It's bad," said the former deputy head of the presidential administration.
He also supported the thesis that Ukraine should intensify its efforts to establish bilateral communication without waiting for the official inauguration.
"We have to act as a united team here. We should actively use all our connections. Let's not forget that the Republican Party is a member of certain alliances. Parliamentary diplomacy is very important," Yeliseyev emphasised.
When building communication chains, one should not forget about the Ukrainian community, he said. This resource, the ambassador stressed, is underutilised.
In his opinion, it is also important to show that we are successfully fighting corruption.
"Unfortunately, in Trump's perception, Ukraine is still a corrupt country. At the time [of his first presidency], he said that he was focusing on 'some people'. When you ask him where he got this information, he says, "his friends told him." And his friends are from Russia, Russian speakers. He sometimes trusts them and relies on them," the diplomat said, stressing that the future American president's environment should also be taken into account.
In addition, the ambassador stressed that Trump will avoid any conflict with Russia. Some red lines may change this position, he said. One of them for the newly elected president is nuclear weapons, so these red lines need to be clearly defined.
In any negotiations with Trump, Yeliseyev stressed, it is important to make him interested in why it is beneficial for him.
"Sooner or later, the issue of the same invitation to NATO will arise. We need to tell him why it is important for Ukraine. He is not interested in that. With all due respect. He needs to prove why it is beneficial to the American side.
We [in 2016] started with the economic basis, job growth. Then we had an idea that was criticised later, but I think it was the right idea. We bought Pennsylvanian coal. We signed a contract for the supply of electric locomotives, also in Pennsylvania. And Trump liked to say later at rallies: "You see, I brought jobs to Pennsylvania, and now Pennsylvanian coal is being transported to Ukraine on Pennsylvanian locomotives."
Or the famous phrase when he came to a meeting and unexpectedly raised the issue of Crimea being Russian. He was asked why, where did you get that from? "They speak Russian there," he said. And when he is told that they speak Spanish in Texas, it doesn't mean that it belongs to another country, Texas is American. He begins to understand everything," the diplomat said.
Given the current situation, Kostiantyn Yeliseyev believes that Ukrainian diplomacy in Washington will also have to be regrouped.
"I have a lot of respect for Oksana Markarova. She's a good person, she works tirelessly. But we need to see how well she will be able to build a dialogue with the new US administration. This is a normal situation. I think 99% of US ambassadors will be replaced. Let's be honest. And there will be a lot of political appointees among them. This is the situation, this is life. In America, as soon as a new administration comes in, everything changes, it's not a new thing," the diplomat said.
The changes will also affect financial assistance to Ukraine, Yeliseyev is sure.
"You know what Trump's response will be. He's being very careful about this. Therefore, we need to think about renewing or presenting the idea of a Land-Lease as a new one. We need to make this issue as ambitious as possible," the diplomat said.
At the same time, he noted, Trump's presidency should become a catalyst for Europe's security maturation. "After all, Europe must feel that it must take responsibility for its peace and security. And there have already been such statements.
I think that Biden will now try to distribute responsibility. He will make European countries pay more, in particular, to the Alliance budget. I think the ceiling is currently 2%, but it will be about 3% or even more," the ambassador is confident.
And, of course, he emphasises, the main thing in all this is to start with yourself - it is crucial to finally unite and demonstrate unity.
"We need to do what we have to do and can actually do in the country. We have to be strong. The strong and united are respected. This is Trump's policy, by the way. So this is a message to the authorities. Let's finally show that we are strong and united," Yeliseyev said.
In general, he concluded, for all Trump's extravagance, he can be negotiated with.
"So I wouldn't want to say that this is a failure and all is lost. I think everything will be fine. But there must be unity within the country. We have to show that we are strong. He loves the strong.
And finally, the key thing. I think that Volodymyr Oleksandrovych [Zelenskyy] needs to take golf lessons as a matter of urgency. I am not joking. It is urgent. This is one of the elements of building trust. It will help," the diplomat said.