Navigating US presidential politics, Zelenskyy met Trump and Harris. Now comes a harder part

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is back home leading Ukraine’s fight against Russia after a U.S. trip that brought him face to face with the American leaders who will help decide his country’s future.

The Biden administration pledged more than $8 billion in continued support to Ukraine, guaranteeing military aid until a new U.S. administration takes power.

But Zelenskyy found himself briefly mired in domestic politics before meeting with Trump in New York.

And the Ukrainian’s leader’s longer-term strategic aim — convincing his allies to adopt a victory plan that he is promoting— remains elusive and out of his control, analysts and officials said. So does the aim of using far-reaching Western weapons against Russia, the most immediate element of Zelenskyy's plan.

Zelenskyy’s visit to an ammunition plant in the swing state of Pennsylvania upset Republicans and House Speaker Mike Johnson fired off an open letter saying the visit was part of a partisan campaign to support Democrats. He demanded that Zelenskyy fire his ambassador to the U.S., which hasn't happened.

There was talk of a meeting with Republican candidate Donald Trump being called off but the two men met in New York on Friday. Zelenskyy also irritated some Republications when he told The New Yorker that Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president, “is too radical.”

Still, Zelenskyy presented his vision for victory to both Trump, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden, and walked away with more assistance, which will guarantee that Ukraine will be able to count on American aid until the new administration comes to power.

“The outcome of these two meetings was that Ukraine publicly showed it is engaging equally with both candidates. Ukraine has no favorites and is ready for open, normal relations with any future administration,” said Oleksandr Kraiev, an analyst from the Foreign Policy Council Ukrainian Prism.

But the Biden administration’s red line remains long-range Western weapons to strike deep inside Russia, even though Ukraine has long been lobbying for the U.S. to drop that limit.

The U.S. fears escalation but Zelenskyy thinks providing Ukraine with such capabilities would be a step toward ending the war, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said.

“The lifting of these informal restrictions will undoubtedly serve as a key indicator that decisive steps toward ending the war have been taken,” Podolyak said. “Of course, this won’t lead to an immediate end to everything. But we want to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we want to understand how and when this war will be resolved.”

Ukraine’s leadership is waiting for the next meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany — defense leaders from the 50-plus partner nations who regularly gather to coordinate weapons aid for the war. There, Ukraine will see how the group has digested a victory plan that Zelenskyy has been presenting.

Zelenskyy hasn't publicly presented that plan, but U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield of the U.S. said on Sept. 17 that she had seen parts of it and that "it lays out a strategy and plan that can work.“

Podolyak said that Ukraine “succeeded in delivering the message” with respect to the resources required to sustain its defenses in the current, and potentially decisive, stage of the war."

No public pledges of support were made for Ukraine’s vision during the meetings, but Podolyak says Kyiv anticipated that a response to the victory plan would likely come during the Ramstein meeting on Oct. 12.

“We just need to wait a little, as our partner countries are now holding internal discussions," he said. "We will see the results soon enough.”

Ukrainian lawmakers have been trying to win over Trump-allied officials for months, two of them said. One lawmaker said that attempts to solicit Republicans sympathetic to Ukraine’s cause haven’t yielded breakthroughs. He spoke on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely about sensitive matters.

Zelenskyy said that everything necessary for Ukraine to win the war with Russia is “on the partner’s table” – an indication Kyiv has no option but to wait for their decision.

He made this statement while addressing the nation at the end of his trip to the U.S.

“The victory plan has been presented to America, and we have explained every point,” he said.

But analysts and lawmakers said Ukraine sees both presidential candidates as potentially problematic.

Many are concerned by Trump's claims that the war could be resolved quickly, fearing that could mean negotiating on Russia’s terms, potentially involving territorial concessions and giving up on security guarantees from Western allies.

Meanwhile, others said they believe Harris would continue Biden’s foreign policy, which many Ukrainians and outside observers say is driven primarily by fear of wider war rather than than a well thought-out strategy for beating Russia.

Allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles would be one crucial signal that the US is committed to bolstering Kyiv’s hand in the long and difficult war.

“Biden is too cautious to give this permission before the elections,” another lawmaker on the foreign policy committee said, speaking on condition of anonymity to openly discuss sensitive matters. “But once the elections are over he might give this permission,” he said, echoing a hope that many Ukrainian officials have.

FILE - U.S. President Joe Biden, center, with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, front second left, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, front left, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, front second right, President of Poland Andrzej Duda, right, and other world leaders pose for a family picture of the launching of a Joint Declaration of Support for Ukrainian Recovery and Reconstruction, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in New York. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in the vice president's ceremonial office inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin,File)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Trump Tower, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, walks with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., left, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as he arrives for a briefing with lawmakers about the war effort against Russia, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

In this image provided by the Office of the Ukrainian Presidency, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, is watched by Rich Hansen, the commander's representative for the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, while signing military ordnance in Scranton, Pa., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (Office of the Ukrainian Presidency via AP)

FILE - President Joe Biden meets with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida resigned with his Cabinet on Tuesday, paving the way for his likely successor Shigeru Ishiba to take office.

Kishida took office in 2021 but is leaving so his party can have a fresh leader after his government was dogged by scandals. Ishiba plans to call a parliamentary election for Oct. 27 after he is formally chosen as prime minister later in the day.

“I believe it is important to have the new administration get the public’s judgment as soon as possible,” Ishiba said Monday in announcing his plan to call a snap election. Opposition parties criticized Ishiba for allowing only a short period of time for his policies to be examined and discussed in parliament before the vote.

Ishiba was chosen as the governing Liberal Democratic Party’s leader on Friday to replace Kishida, who announced in August he would resign at the end of his three-year term.

Ishiba is assured of becoming prime minister later Tuesday in a vote by parliament because it is dominated by his party’s ruling coalition.

Kishida and his ministers stepped down at a Cabinet meeting in the morning, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

Hayashi, who is Kishida’s top confidante, said the world has high expectations for Japan’s diplomatic role, noting a deepening global divide over Russia's war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East. “We hope the next administration will pursue an active and powerful diplomacy while placing importance on (Japan's) main pillars such as achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific," Hayashi said.

Ishiba earlier announced his party's leaders ahead of naming his Cabinet, once he becomes prime minister. Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who came in third in the party leadership race, will head the party’s election task force. He is expected to name defense experts Takeshi Iwaya as foreign minister and Gen Nakatani as defense chief.

The majority of his Cabinet ministers, like Ishiba, are expected to be unaffiliated with factions led and controlled by party heavyweights, and none are from former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's powerful group linked to damaging scandals.

Ishiba's lack of stable power base could also mean a fragility of his government, and “could quickly collapse” even though Ishiba hopes to build up party unity as it prepares for the upcoming election, the liberal-leaning Asahi newspaper said.

The move is also seen as a revenge by Ishiba, who was largely pushed to the side during most of Abe's reign.

Ishiba has proposed an Asian version of the NATO military alliance and more discussion among regional partners about the use of the U.S. nuclear deterrence. He also suggested a more equal Japan-U.S. security alliance, including joint management of U.S. bases in Japan and having Japanese Self Defense Force bases in the United States.

Ishiba outlined his views in an article to the Hudson Institute last week. “The absence of a collective self-defense system like NATO in Asia means that wars are likely to break out because there is no obligation for mutual defense. Under these circumstances, the creation of an Asian version of NATO is essential to deter China by its Western allies,” he wrote.

Ishiba proposes combining of existing security and diplomatic groupings, such as the Quad and other bilateral and multilateral frameworks involving the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and the Philippines.

He also noted that the Asian version of NATO can also consider sharing of the control of U.S. nuclear weapons in the region as a deterrence against growing threats from China, North Korea and Russia.

Ishiba on Friday stressed Japan needs to reinforce its security, noting recent violations of Japanese airspace by Russian and Chinese warplanes and repeated missile launches by North Korea.

He pledged to continue Kishida’s economic policy aimed at pulling Japan out of deflation and achieving real salary increases, while tackling challenges such as Japan’s declining birthrate and population and resilience to natural disasters.

The LDP has had a nearly unbroken tenure governing Japan since World War II. The party members may have seen Ishiba’s more centrist views as crucial in pushing back challenges by the liberal-leaning opposition and winning voter support as the party reels from corruption scandals that drove down Kishida’s popularity.

Ishiba, first elected to parliament in 1986, has served as defense minister, agriculture minister and in other key Cabinet posts, and was LDP secretary general under Abe.

Follow AP's Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific

Japan's outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, front, is seen off as he leaves the prime minister's office in Tokyo Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Japan's outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, center left showing his back, waves towards staff members and politicians as he leaves the prime minister's office in Tokyo Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Japan's outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, center, smiles as he leaves the prime minister's office in Tokyo Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Japan's outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, center, speaks as he leaves the prime minister's office in Tokyo Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a Cabinet meeting at his office in Tokyo before his resignation Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, center, attends a Cabinet meeting at his office in Tokyo before his resignation Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)