Axios learned the details of Trump's conversation with EU and Zelenskyy leaders: some seemed "surprised" or "shocked"
Kyiv • UNN
Trump informed European leaders that Putin is ready for negotiations. According to sources, some leaders were "surprised" or "shocked" during the conversation.
The American publication Axios learned that US President Donald Trump said during a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders after negotiations with Kremlin head Vladimir Putin, writes UNN.
Details
"Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and five other European leaders joined a conference call with President Trump immediately after his phone conversation with Vladimir Putin on Monday, hoping to hear that Putin had agreed to a ceasefire - or that the US would impose punitive sanctions on him for refusing to do so. Instead, Trump said that Putin had agreed to negotiations, stressed that the US would not participate in these negotiations, and opposed the idea of imposing sanctions against Putin at this time," Axios was told by two sources who were on the phone call, and a third source informed about the phone call.
The publication notes that "Trump gave the impression that he was close to completely abandoning the issue." Some leaders during the phone call, reportedly citing sources, seemed "surprised" or "shocked."
It is reported citing sources that "Trump and Zelenskyy had a short phone conversation on Monday morning, and Trump asked his Ukrainian counterpart what he should say to Putin."
"Zelenskyy was glad that Trump called him for consultation. He asked Trump to demand an immediate ceasefire, threaten new sanctions against Russia, and not offer any concessions to Putin without consulting Ukraine," sources say.
As the publication writes, "when the phone conversation with Putin ended, Trump called Zelenskyy again. This time, the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, Finland, and the European Commission were also on the line."
"The second phone conversation was longer and of a different nature than the first," Zelenskyy said later.
"While a European source told Axios that it was "constructive," another source said that Zelenskyy thought it was "bad,"" the publication writes. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump reportedly "told the leaders that Putin had agreed to start direct negotiations on a ceasefire immediately." A source during the call said that there was a surprised silence for a few seconds.
Then, as indicated, "Zelenskyy noted that Putin had previously agreed to negotiations, and the first round of ceasefire negotiations took place on Friday in Istanbul." According to sources, "Trump did not respond directly."
Sources reported that "Zelenskyy and several other leaders during the conversation told Trump that it was his idea to start peace negotiations with an immediate 30-day ceasefire."
The publication writes that "other European leaders during the conversation asked about the possibility of US sanctions against Russia, but Trump said he did not think it was a good idea, and stressed that he thought Putin wanted a deal."
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reportedly asked why there could not be a ceasefire for at least two weeks before the start of negotiations, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz asked what concessions Russia was willing to make, sources said.
"Trump told the group that Putin would present a "memorandum on peace" with his terms for a ceasefire and an end to the war. A source during the conversation said that Trump told Zelenskyy and European leaders that he had asked Putin to present "something that people can agree with," rather than a proposal that would be immediately rejected. Zelenskyy said that previous rounds of negotiations with Putin, including last week, had yielded nothing, and stressed that if Trump did not insist, Putin would not budge," the publication reports citing sources.
The leaders, as noted citing sources, "during the conversation were surprised that Trump seemed relatively satisfied with what he had heard from Putin and presented it as a new development, although the Russian leader did not seem to have changed his position at all."
Meloni and Merz, as noted, stated that the US and European countries should be involved in the negotiations. "Someone has to be the judge," Meloni said. Merz suggested holding a meeting with all parties present.
"Later, Trump suggested the Vatican as a venue for negotiations," the publication says.
During the conversation, as indicated, Finnish President Alexander Stubb asked Trump what the next steps would be. "I don't know. Someone has to come out and say whether the negotiations are going well or badly, and then we'll decide what to do," Trump said.