Trump set a condition for Zelenskyy to resume negotiations with the US
Kyiv • UNN
Donald Trump stated that Zelenskyy should publicly express a desire for peace in order to resume negotiations. This happened after a tense meeting of the leaders at the White House, which ended prematurely.
US President Donald Trump said that for Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to resume negotiations with the US, Zelenskyy must say he wants to make peace, reports Sky News, writes UNN.
Details
Trump, in a conversation with journalists after arriving at the joint Andrews base before boarding Air Force One, said that Zelenskyy, as the publication writes, "outplayed" in the negotiations in the Oval Office, adding that he allegedly did not look like a person who wants peace.
As Reuters writes, speaking to journalists near the White House, leaving for Florida, Trump indicated that the meeting with Zelenskyy did not go well.
Trump insists that the US is seeking peace, not a 10-year war, and adds that a ceasefire could happen immediately.
"I think if you had a ceasefire, it would be a ceasefire, a real one and that would end it, but he [Zelenskyy] doesn't want to do that," Trump says.
To resume negotiations with the US, Trump said, Zelenskyy must say he wants to make peace.
"He wants to come back right now," Trump says, adding "I can't do that".
When asked if he is considering stopping military aid to Ukraine, he replied that it doesn't matter what he is considering, Reuters points out.
Context
A tense confrontation arose between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House.
Later, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Zelenskyy allegedly is not ready for peace, and added that the Ukrainian leader can return when he is ready for peace.
Zelenskyy left the White House early after the confrontation with Trump.
CNN, citing a source, reported that a deal on rare earth minerals between the US and Ukraine was not signed on Friday after the meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy.
Later, President Zelenskyy made his first statement after the unexpected end of the meeting, thanking America for its support, for this visit. He thanked the President, Congress and the American people. Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine needs a just and lasting peace, "and we are working for this".
