A historical parallel to the angry spat between Trump and Zelensky?
When President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953 sought for an armistice to end the Korean War, his views were certainly not shared by President Syngman Ree of South Korea.
Their disagreement might have been at a distance and in the shape of courteous letters, but in a way, it seems to mirror the disagreement between President Trump and President Zelensky as it was brought to fore in the spat in the White House on February 27.
Here an excerpt from a letter President Syngman Ree of South Korea sent to President Eisenhower, dated April 9 1953.:
“If Korea were given to the Soviets, nonetheless, all the so-called free nations will be grave danger of being the next victims, one by one. At all events, either as a result of the Indian resolution or of the Communists’ recent offer of peace negotiations, if they arrange a peace agreement allowing the Chinese to remain in Korea, we have to ask all the friendly nations whose armed forces are now fighting in Korea and who do not desire to join with us in our determination to defeat aggressive communism and drive up to the Yalu River, to withdraw from Korea. Any nation which will join with us in our efforts to drive the Chinese Communists out of Korean territory will be welcomed to work with us. In this we must reiterate our original announcement that we will not move one step beyond our age-old national boundary line without your request.” (Emphasis added).
President Eisenhower replied to President Syngman Ree’s “angry” threats in a letter dated April 23, 1953. Here an excerpt:
“I would be lacking in candor if I did not state that I was deeply disturbed at the implication of your letter of April 9, not only for Korea but for the efforts being made to deal with the problem of Communist aggression by the collective action of free peoples … Any agreement to stop the fighting on an honorable basis presupposes a willingness on the part of both sides to discuss the remaining issues and to make every reasonable effort to reach agreement thereon. As I said in my address of April 16 an honorable armistice “means the immediate cessation of hostilities and the prompt initiation of political discussions leading to the holding of free elections in a United Korea…” If an honorable agreement is reached to stop the fighting, the United States intends to proceed promptly, vigorously and in good faith to seek by all appropriate means, in full consultation with your Government, to achieve a settlement of the problems confronting your country with the objective of achieving a true peace. These efforts would, of course, be entirely nullified if your Government should take actions which could not be supported by this or other governments supporting the defense of your country. I am also certain that you recognize that any such action by your Government could only result in disaster for your country, obliterating all that has been gained at such sacrifice by our peoples.” (Emphasis added).
Armistice
Armistice talks began on April 26,1953. Three months later, on July 27 1953 all sides —?except for South Korea — agreed to the armistice, signed by signed by U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William Harrison Jr. and U.S. Army Gen. Mark W. Clark, representing the United Nations Command; North Korean leader Kim Il Sung and Gen. Nam Il, representing the Korean army; and Peng Dehuai, representing the China’s People's Volunteer Army. Thus, the armistice was signed by military commanders, not by any nations.
While President Zelensky objections and demands may remind one of President Syngman Ree’s threats and complaints, it is certainly to be hoped that it won’t be necessary to force an armistice agreement on Ukraine.
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