The US president believes Kiev is closer to reaching a deal with Moscow than before
US President Donald Trump has revealed that during their meeting in the Vatican, Vladimir Zelensky behaved “calmer” and seemed more open to making a “deal” with Moscow than during their infamous encounter in the Oval Office.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said the tone of his latest discussion with Zelensky was markedly different from their “little dispute” in February, which saw the Ukrainian delegation kicked out of the White House.
“I see him as calmer. I think he understands the picture. And I think he wants to make a deal. I don’t know if he wanted to make a deal [before]. I think he wants to make a deal,” Trump said.
Earlier this week, Trump told Time magazine that “Crimea will stay with Russia” under any peace agreement, noting that even Zelensky “understands” the reality, despite public declarations to the contrary. Asked whether he believed Zelensky was now prepared to “give up” the peninsula, Trump responded: “Oh, I think so, yeah.”
Zelensky has repeatedly and publicly insisted that Kiev would never formally recognize Crimea as Russian territory – a position Trump has previously criticized as “very harmful to the peace negotiations.”
Despite portraying Zelensky as someone who wants to do “something good for the country,” Trump revealed that the Ukrainian leader again asked Washington for more military support.
“He told me that he needs more weapons, but he has been saying that for three years,” Trump stated. The US president noted that Kiev was in a “very tough situation,” fighting “a much bigger force” — and emphasized that “it helped them when we gave them $350 billion worth of weapons or cash.”
“He needs more weapons, and we are gonna see what happens with respect to Russia,” Trump added, noting that he was “disappointed” with Moscow’s renewed strikes in Ukraine.
Following a brief lull in fighting during the Easter ceasefire announced by President Vladimir Putin last weekend, the Russian military carried out multiple long-range strikes against Ukrainian military and industrial targets over the past week. Moscow has maintained that it targets only military installations and facilities used by Kiev’s forces, rejecting accusations of deliberately striking civilian sites.
Moscow has also reiterated its readiness for discussions with Kiev without preconditions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the issue was raised during a meeting between President Putin and Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Friday.
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Russian officials have consistently emphasized that any viable long-term settlement must reflect the territorial realities on the ground and address the root causes of the conflict. According to multiple reports, Washington’s proposal seeks to freeze the conflict along the current front lines and recognize Crimea as part of Russia. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that – unlike Zelensky – Moscow does not intend to discuss confidential details of talks with the US until the process is completed.
