Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met on Saturday – their first meeting since an animated exchange in the White House two months ago.
The two leaders organized a discussion inside the Saint-Pierre Basilica, before the Pope’s funeral, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer present during the first moments.
Zelenskyy and Trump had not met since their animated exchange in the oval office on February 28, in which Trump said of the Ukraine war against Russia, “you are going to conclude an agreement or we came out.”
The meeting of Trump and Zelenskyy in Rome was their first since their confrontation at the Oval Office on February 28. Brian Snyder / Reuters
Four days later, Trump announced a break in American military aid, and the EU said “an era of reset” because it revealed a boost of defense funding.
The meeting of the Oval Office was in the sparkle of the world press, but the photos of the Rome meeting show that Trump and Zelenskyy sat nearby, without help or interpreters.
Andrii Yermak, a senior assistant from Zelenskyy, shared a photo of the leaders of the Saint-Pierre basilica on Telegram. “Constructive,” he wrote.
Steven Cheung, director of communications for the White House, described it as “very productive discussion”.
Publishing X, Zelenskyy said that the meeting had been a “Good meeting. “”
“We have discussed a lot of one against one. Hoping for results on everything we have covered. Protect the lives of our employees. A complete and unconditional cease-fire. Reliable and lasting peace will prevent another war from going out.
Rome’s meeting comes after Steve Witkoff, the Envoy designated from Trump’s peace, went to Moscow for discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov said the talks were focused on “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”.
After the return of Witkoff, Trump said on Truth Social that “most of the main points are accepted” and that a ceasefire agreement between kyiv and Moscow was “very close”.
While he was preparing to leave for Rome on Friday, Trump told journalists that talks were “very fragile”. He also warned that the United States could stop its mediation efforts if an agreement is not concluded soon.
After the meeting on Saturday, Zelenskyy was greeted by applause when he left the Saint-Pierre basilica after having paid tribute to the Coffiil du Pontiff.
Trump then wrote a long post on Truth Social, in which he called the war in Ukraine “Joe Biden’s sleeping war, not mine. It was a loser from the first day. “”
The long post ended: “There was no reason why Putin shoot missiles in civil zones, cities and cities, in the past few days. It makes me think that he may not want to stop war, he hits me just and must be treated differently, through” the bank “or” secondary sanctions? “”
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