Expert: Zelensky will face difficult negotiations, with territorial issues as the focus.

On August 18, Jin10 reported that Robert English, director of the Central European Studies Center at the University of Southern California, stated that Ukrainian President Zelensky's meeting with U.S. President Trump at the White House would be unusually "difficult," as the terms of the proposed peace protocol were not entirely favorable to Kyiv. "Trump has made it clear to Zelensky... that he must accept the reality that the occupied territories are unlikely to be recovered in the foreseeable future," English pointed out. "The illusion of reclaiming Crimea and most of Donbas has been shattered." The expert revealed, "There is a clear consensus behind the scenes, and Zelensky has to swallow this bitter fruit. The focus now needs to be on building a strong future security guarantee mechanism for Ukraine."