"Sort it out yourselves": NYT found out what Trump told Zelensky after the call with Putin
Kyiv • UNN
Trump announced that Ukraine and Russia will have to negotiate peace on their own. He refused to put pressure on the Kremlin and impose new sanctions, seeking to conclude business deals with the Russian Federation.
US President Donald Trump's new position on the war in Ukraine: "not my problem". This is evidenced by his unpublished statements to Ukrainian and European leaders regarding the promotion of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. The American publication The New York Times learned what Trump actually said to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after a conversation with Russian dictator Putin, reports UNN.
Details
Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders after his call with Putin that Russia and Ukraine would have to find a solution to end the war themselves. And this statement came just days after he said that only he and Putin have the power to conclude a peace agreement. And he refused his own threats to join the European campaign to put pressure on the Kremlin, which includes new sanctions against Russia, according to officials familiar with the discussion. They spoke on condition of anonymity to convey a private conversation.
Contrary to expectations, President Trump appears to have abandoned support for European efforts to impose new sanctions on Russia. Apparently, seeking to move towards making business deals with it, writes NYT.
For months, President Trump has threatened to simply walk away from ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine because they have become frustrating to him.
After a telephone conversation on Monday between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, it seems that this is exactly what the American president is doing. Now, the deeper question is whether he will also abandon America's three-year project to support Ukraine, a young democracy that he has repeatedly accused of Russia's illegal invasion.
Their testimony sheds light on Mr. Trump's decision to give up when it comes to the peace process, which he had previously promised to complete in just 24 hours. And unless he changes course again, Monday's events left Putin with exactly what he wanted: not only an end to American pressure, but also a deep split within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization between Americans and their traditional European allies.
For many, Trump's decision was predictable. The events were developing in this way, as evidenced by his scandalous television meeting with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, followed by the resignation of the American ambassador in Kyiv.
The policy from the beginning of the Trump administration was to put pressure on the victim of aggression - Ukraine, and not on the aggressor - Russia. Peace at any price is not peace at all, it is appeasement," wrote former Ambassador and long-time diplomatic service employee Bridget Brink after leaving Kyiv last month.
Sanctions may push Russia away from peace talks - Rubio20.05.25, 21:16 • 13835 views
But Trump has shown that he will not be able to ensure peace in Ukraine "at any price" because Putin has rejected his attempts. Even after Trump's Defense Minister Pete Hegseth stated that Ukraine would never join NATO and should give up hope of regaining all the territories seized by Russia — and these are Putin's two demands — that was not enough for a ceasefire.
