The two leaders sat in a large and mostly empty room in the Vatican, their armchairs approached when they leaned towards the other and talked carefully.
In a real social position after his meeting, Trump described the conflict of Ukraine as a “disaster that left me Obama and Biden, and what disaster is.”
“There was no reason for Putin to shoot missiles in civil areas, cities and towns, in recent days. It makes me think that he may not want to stop the war, he is just taking advantage of me,” Trump wrote, which could follow economic sanctions.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on the other hand, warned earlier this month that the White House was prepared to “move on” and get away from the conversations if Ukraine and Russia did not make significant progress to finish the conflict.
Zelenskyy has rejected some of the possible concessions, including Trump’s statement in Time magazine that “Crimea will stay with Russia”, referring to the strategic peninsula that Putin annexed illegally in 2014.
Trump’s efforts in Ukraine occur when the international order goes quickly on other key fronts. He has launched a radical commercial war with China, destroyed American help to the developing world and has repeatedly reflected on the acquisition of Greenland and Canada.
So far he has not permanently stopped another conflict in the Middle East. After he helped negotiate a high temporary fire between Israel and Hamas, that fragile peace collapsed and the fight has resumed.
In an interview with The Atlantic published on Monday, Trump said: “I am trying to save many lives in the world. You know, Ukraine and Russia, they are not our lives, but could end in a third World War.”
The president, who for a long time admired what he sees as Putin’s strength and advocated the closest ties between the United States and Russia, entered his second presidency that seeks to change decades of foreign policy of the United States and Hawkishishy bipartisan in Russia. Republicans are increasingly behind Trump, since the Maga political coalition sours interventionism and considers the support of the United States for kyiv as a waste of taxpayers dollars.
The predecessor of Trump, Joe Biden, framed the invasion of Ukraine of Russia in Ukraine in marked moral terms and tried to gather the United States behind kyiv. The Trump approach has been much more transactional, with an approach to the recovery of the recovery of US support in the form of a proposed agreement that provides access to rare minerals of Ukraine.
Trump has adopted some of Putin’s falsehoods about war, including the idea that Ukraine began the conflict. In his tense meeting of the Oval Office, Trump and Vice President JD Vance punished Zelenskyy in front of television cameras, exciting American populists who favor a strong departure from internationalism.
However, as the conflict progresses, Trump has also increasingly punished Putin. He published in Truth Social last week that “I was not happy” with Russia’s attacks on kyiv and made a direct appeal to Putin: “Vladimir, stop! 5000 soldiers per week are dying. Let’s make the peace agreement!”
The two parts are at a man -dead point on other crucial issues. Zelenskyy has sought entrance to NATO, which would lead Ukraine to a mutual defense pact with other Western powers. Russia firmly opposes that offer, characterized as a provocation of a nation that barely considers legitimate. Until now, Trump has been largely without Ukraine support that binds to NATO.
In the interview of Mame Time magazine, Trump seemed to break into the idea that he was hit to ensure peace in Eastern Europe, saying in part: “The war has been furious for three years. I just arrived here and you say:” What has taken so much time? “” He made similar comments about the war between Israel and Hamas.
In a statement to The Associated Press, the spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House, James Hewitt, said Trump is still committed to completing a Russia-Ukraine agreement and “is closer to that objective than at any time during the presidency of Joe Biden.”
“In the 100 days, President Trump has led Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table with the aim of bringing this horrible war to a peaceful resolution,” said Hewitt. “It’s no longer about whether this war will end but when.”
On Monday, Putin announced a brief high fire, from midnight, the local time of May 8 and ending at midnight on May 11, to coincide with the celebration of Russia of his triumph over the Nazis in World War II. (Putin has compared the government of Ukraine with Nazi Germany).
The Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, responded to the announcement when asking Russia to “cease the fire immediately” if you really “really want peace.”
“Why wait until May 8?” Sybiha asked Monday at an X publication.
