Donald Trump and Volodimir Zelenski held a “very productive” meeting, according to the White Houseon Saturday in Rome, apart from Pope Francis’s funeral, at a time of growing American pressure for Ukraine and Russia to reach a high fire.
They did not transcend details about the content of their conversation, but The White House promised to give more information later. Zelenski’s right hand, Andrii Yermak, described the “15 -minute” talk as “constructive” in the Basilica of San Pedro.
Also read: “Vladimir, hold!”: Trump’s hard reaction after the Russian attack against Ukraine that leaves 12 dead
This is the first meeting between US and Ukrainian presidents Since his heated discussion in Washington on February 28, when Trump and his vice president JD Vance verbally vapulate Zelenski in the oval office.
Dozens of heads of state or government and senior officials were on Saturday in Rome on the occasion of Pope Francis’s funeral, which opens the possibility of multiple diplomatic meetings.
The American president said Friday that an agreement between Ukraine and Russia is “very close”, without giving details, after his emissary Steve Witkoff discussed in Moscow with Vladimir Putin the possibility of launching “direct negotiations” between both parties.
There have been no direct negotiations about the end of the conflict between Russians and Ukrainians since the first months of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, initiated in February 2022.
Previous approaches between Russia and the United States
Witkoff met Friday for the fourth time with the Russian president since the relations between the two powers resumed, at Trump’s initiativeand several Russian officials affirmed that Russian-American dialogue progresses positively.
-In parallel to this approach, Trump multiplied his criticisms of Zelenski, accused Ukraine of being an obstacle to ending war and submitted the Ukrainian president to intense pressure since he vitally needs US military support to resist the Russian invasion.
The American president, whose teams negotiate separately with the Ukrainians, said during his election campaign that he would quickly end the conflict.
Before the stagnation of the conversations, Trump seems to want to force the hand of his Ukrainian counterpart to start the resolution process, but kyiv fears that his key ally forces him to accept too favorable conditions for the Kremlineither in terms of possible territorial concessions or security guarantees for Ukraine.
In an interview conducted on Tuesday and released on Friday, the US President assured Time magazine that “Russia will retain Crimea,” Ukrainian Peninsula annexed in 2014.
However, Zelenski rejected this idea, insisting on Friday that “all occupied territories temporarily belong to Ukraine.”
The issue of possible territorial concessions lifts blisters in Ukraine, where Russia controls about 20% of the territory.
Donald Trump also blamed Ukraine again, saying that “what triggered the war was when they (the Ukrainians) began talking about joining NATO”, a message that Russia has been disseminating for years.
The Russian army massively invaded the Ukrainian territory in February 2022, triggering a wingspan conflict that had not been seen in Europe for decades.
