Trump's position is to pressure both sides, but Ukraine has suffered more – Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
The position of US leader Donald Trump involves applying pressure on both sides of the conflict. However, the greatest burden of that pressure had fallen on Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a press conference.
"We expect sanctions to be imposed if Russia does not move toward ending the war. The only option is to increase pressure on the aggressor — through various means, by strengthening Ukraine with weapons, defense, and security guarantees. The pressure must be on the side that doesn't want to end the war," Zelenskyy emphasized.
He also noted that the position of the United States — and of President Trump personally — has from the beginning been to apply pressure on both sides. However, in Zelenskyy's view, more pressure has been placed on Ukraine.
"I believe more pressure was put on us… But that doesn't mean we're the aggressor. Step by step, we have demonstrated our readiness for peace, agreeing to many different compromises. What everyone now calls and considers a complete ceasefire as an important step for Ukraine — that was also a compromise. Without any preconditions. We have many conditions for the aggressor," Zelenskyy said.
The president emphasized that when the US took certain steps, Ukraine supported the dialogue and went along with it.
"And not only those steps — Ukraine took many different diplomatic steps, moved toward some kind of format, even a small format that could bring everyone closer to ending the war. But it cannot be one-sided," he explained.
At the same time, the president stressed that pressure cannot be applied in only one direction.
"That's why we really want to see clear pressure on Russia, on Putin. Sanctions from Europe, the US, from other countries — at the very least, sanctions," Zelenskyy concluded.
Talks in Türkiye
In the early hours of May 11, the Kremlin rejected a joint initiative from Ukraine, the European Union, and the United States to declare a 30-day ceasefire.
Instead, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed holding negotiations with the Ukrainian side on neutral territory — in Türkiye.
Ukraine supported this format, along with the United States and US leader Donald Trump personally. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced his readiness to meet face-to-face with the Russian President in Türkiye.
However, as expected, Putin ignored the talks.
Instead of attending, he sent a lower-level delegation to Istanbul, led not by the foreign minister but by Vladimir Medinsky — Putin's advisor, who had previously taken part in the 2022 negotiations.
In contrast, the Ukrainian delegation was represented at a high level — including officials from the President's Office, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as military and intelligence representatives.
It should be noted that Zelenskyy sent part of the Ukrainian delegation to the negotiations in Istanbul. The delegation is headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
