Trump briefs Zelenskyy after Putin call - EU leaders left speechless
Photo: Donald Trump, 47th President of the United States of America (Getty Images)
American leader Donald Trump stunned President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders while summarizing his call with dictator Vladimir Putin, according to Axios.
Putin is ready for negotiations
As Axios reports, Zelenskyy and five European leaders joined a phone conference with Trump immediately after his call with Putin. Hoping to hear that the dictator was ready for a ceasefire or that the United States of America would impose sanctions against Moscow for rejecting a silence regime, the president of Ukraine and the leaders of the European Union were stunned to learn the details of the White House head’s conversation with the president of Russia.
During the conversation, Trump stated that the Russian leader agreed to negotiations with Ukraine, but the US would not participate in this dialogue. Moreover, he also considers the idea of imposing sanctions against Russia to be a bad one, since, in his opinion, “Putin wanted a deal.”
According to Axios sources, some of the leaders present during the conversation looked “surprised” or “shocked.”
The news website writes that Zelenskyy told Trump that Putin had previously agreed to negotiations, and the first round of the meeting took place quite recently in Istanbul. However, the head of the White House did not respond. After that, the EU leaders and the president of Ukraine reminded Trump that it was his idea to start peace talks with an immediate 30-day ceasefire.
Russia will prepare a peace memorandum
The head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, asked Trump why Russia and Ukraine couldn’t declare a ceasefire for at least two weeks before starting negotiations, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz asked what concessions the Kremlin was ready to make.
The US president responded that Putin would present a "peace memo" with his conditions for a ceasefire and ending the war. At the same time, he allegedly asked the Russian president to present "something people can agree to."
Zelenskyy, during the conversation, noted that past negotiations with Putin had yielded nothing and emphasized that the US must begin to pressure Russia if they want any result.
"Leaders on the call seemed surprised that Trump seemed relatively content with what he heard from Putin, and presented it as a new development, even though the Russian leader did not seem to have changed his position at all, the sources said," Axios writes.
There must be a judge at the negotiations
Meloni and Merz stated that Washington and European countries must be involved in the negotiations since it’s important that someone act as a judge.
The German Chancellor proposed holding a meeting with all parties present, and Trump later proposed the Vatican as a venue for the talks.
Trump’s call to Putin and Zelenskyy
Yesterday, May 19, Trump held telephone talks with Putin and Zelenskyy. The American leader called the president of Ukraine twice — the first time before the call to Putin.
After the talks, the head of the White House stated that Russia and Ukraine should sit at the negotiating table and reach a ceasefire and end to the war.
More detailed information about the conversation between Trump and Putin – read in the RBC-Ukraine article.
