Washington, D.C. In a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday, President Donald Trump declared he is moving directly toward a peace deal after a fruitful meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
The president posted on social media early on Saturday morning after returning to Washington that the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the late-night phone conversation with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, and several European leaders, including the esteemed Secretary General of NATO, went extremely well.
In an attempt to end a war in its fourth year, Trump hinted that face-to-face peace negotiations between the two Eastern European presidents might be imminent. He has made similar claims from the first few weeks of his second administration and repeatedly stated during the campaign that if he were elected, the conflict would finish on the first day.
Everyone agreed that a peace agreement, rather than a ceasefire agreement, which frequently fails, would be the best way to put an end to the terrible conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Trump wrote. On Monday afternoon, President Zelenskyy will visit the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. We will then set up a meeting with President Putin if everything goes as planned. The lives of millions of people could be saved.
He stated that his nation is interested in ending the conflict with Ukraine at a press conference held after Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Friday.
Trump did not go into detail about any deals, but he did say that negotiations with Putin had advanced.
On the battlefields, nothing changed right away.
The president claimed that only a small number of issues remained after many were agreed upon. Not all of them are very important. The first is arguably the most important, but we have a fair chance of succeeding. We have a pretty high chance of getting there, even though we didn’t.
Despite the fruitful conversation, Trump emphasized that the two leaders of Eastern Europe must ultimately reach a consensus since there is no deal unless there is a deal.
The Russian president said reporters that in order for the two nations to come to an agreement, they must address the conflict’s underlying causes.
In order to achieve a long-term and sustainable settlement, Putin stated, “we are convinced that we need to eliminate all the primary roots, the primary causes of that conflict, and to consider all legitimate concerns of Russia in order to reinstate a just balance of security in Europe and in the world on a whole.” We concur with President Trump that Ukraine’s security need to be guaranteed as well.
Zelenskyy made his calls for peace much more bluntly in a social media post on Saturday morning.
Zelenskyy stated that the positions are obvious. We must bring about a permanent peace, not merely a respite from Russian assaults. The killings must end immediately, as must the fighting against our port infrastructure and on the battlefield and in the airspace. All Ukrainian civilians and POWs must be released, and the children that Russia kidnapped must be returned. All of our folks must be sent home; thousands are still in captivity. As long as the occupation and aggression persist, we must continue to put pressure on Russia.
I made it clear in my talk with President Trump that if a trilateral summit is not held or if Russia avoids an honest conclusion to the conflict, sanctions should be tightened. Sanctions are a useful instrument. With the involvement of both Europe and the United States, we must consistently and sustainably ensure security. No issue, including territorial ones, should be settled without Ukraine’s participation, and all matters of importance to Ukraine must be considered with it.
Zelenskyy and Trump last met at the White House in February, but after a heated exchange, the meeting ended suddenly. Trump claimed at the time that Zelenskyy wasn’t prepared for peace.
In two subsequent side-bar meetings in Europe, the leaders seemed to have reconciled.
