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The United States has been pushing Ukraine to accept a peace plan that seems in part a gift to Moscow. But the short meeting of the leaders, and subsequent comments, appeared to be a change in tone.
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Trump Talks About His Meeting With Zelensky at the Vatican
President Trump spoke about his meeting with Ukraine’s leader in St. Peter’s Basilica, their first since a heated encounter in the Oval Office in February.
“I think the meeting went well. We’ll see what happens over the next few days.” Reporters: “What did he tell you Mr. President?” “He told me that he needs more weapons, but he’s been saying that for three years.” “Look, he wants to do something good for his country. Thinks he’s doing a good job, and he’s working hard. And we’ll see what happens. It’s a very complicated deal.” “I was very disappointed that missiles were flying by Russia, but that missiles were flying, very disappointing.”
By Kim Barker
Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine
President Trump’s standing among Ukrainians is practically on life support. But many cheered one statement he made on Saturday after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, questioning why President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia would continue to pummel Ukraine as the United States is trying to broker peace talks.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social after meeting with Mr. Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral, adding that Mr. Putin may need to be “dealt with differently” — with more sanctions.
The day’s events were a victory of sorts for Mr. Zelensky and Ukraine at a critical juncture in the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The United States has been pushing Ukraine to accept a peace plan that seems in part a gift to Moscow. The proposal would force Kyiv to abandon its aspirations of joining NATO, offer Ukraine only vague security guarantees, and see the United States officially recognizing Crimea as Russian. Ukraine has rejected that deal, which the Trump administration had described as its final offer.
But now, Ukrainians see a small glimmer of hope that Mr. Trump will not try to force Ukraine into a lopsided peace plan. It first emerged in the fallout from a massive Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s capital early Thursday that killed 12 people and injured almost 90. “Vladimir, STOP!” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social, in a rare rebuke of Mr. Putin.
And then, the hope grew slightly on Saturday when Mr. Zelensky managed to wrangle about 15 minutes with Mr. Trump in Rome. Photos released by the Ukrainian government showed the two men sitting in chairs and leaning toward each other, talking like equals — a vastly different scene than a disastrous meeting in the Oval Office in late February that ended with Mr. Zelensky’s abrupt departure from the White House and the temporary freezing of all U.S. aid.
The photos from Rome “were extraordinary,” said Volodymyr Dubovyk, the director of the Center for International Studies at Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University.
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