 "Zelenskyy says Trump 'began to see things a little differently' after meeting at Vatican")
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said that his American counterpart Donald Trump’s views on the war have altered a bit after the duo’s last conversation at the White House in February.
Trump met Zelenskyy last month on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican. The Ukrainian president said, “I am confident that after our meeting in the Vatican, President Trump began to look at things a little differently. We’ll see. That’s his vision, his choice in any case.”
Both the White House and Ukraine described the one-on-one meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump as “very productive”. The two leaders, leaning in close to each other with no aides around them while seated in St. Peter’s Basilica, spoke for about 15 minutes, according to Zelenskyy’s office and images of the meeting released by Kyiv and Washington.
What did the two leaders discuss?
According to a readout by Zelenskyy’s office, the two leaders covered a wide range of topics during their brief meeting. Zelenskyy said he discussed air defence systems and sanctions on Russia with Trump.
He also said that the US president agrees that a 30-day-long ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow was the correct first step towards ending the war in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy further said the critical minerals deal signed by the two countries on Wednesday was mutually beneficial, and that it would allow Ukraine to defend future U.S. investments, as well as its own territory and people.
US withdraws from peace negotiations
Zelenskyy’s comments come hours after US announced its withdrawal from formal peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
The United States will no longer indulge in shuttle diplomacy to bring the war between Ukraine and Russia to an end, according to the Department of State.
The Trump administration is changing “the methodology of how we contribute” to peace talks and will no longer “fly around the world at the drop of a hat” for meetings, said State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Impact Shorts
View AllAttack in Kharkiv
Meanwhile, Russian drone strikes on Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv wounded 47 people late Friday, police said, while Russian officials reported a “massive attack” by Ukraine on the Krasnodar region.
“Hostile attacks on Kharkiv resulted in 47 injured civilians,” police in the Kharkiv region wrote on Telegram.
Kharkiv governor Oleg Synegubov previously said that around 50 people had been wounded in the strikes, including an 11-year-old girl.
“Fires have broken out. Residential buildings, civilian infrastructure and cars have been damaged” in the drone strikes, he added.
The attacks came hours after Russian strikes on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia wounded more than 20 people.
With inputs from agencies
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