PART I
On the personal level, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a great impression at the Normandy group’s summit in Paris, on December 9. Mr. Zelenskyy outshone Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron at this highly publicized heads-of-state/government gathering – the first after a three-year pause at that level – to restart peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine with German and French assistance.
Mr. Zelenskyy, a first-time participant in the Normandy group, played his own persona, conveying friendly informality and street-smart manner but also, on this occasion, presidential and national dignity. He bristled that he spoke for the entire people of Ukraine, “including Russian-speaking people” (as “we are all Ukrainian”), when provoked by Mr. Putin on that score.