Trump and Zelenski held a brief meeting, which both described as positive, at a time of growing American pressure for Ukraine and Russia to reach a truce after more than three years of war.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, expressed doubts on Saturday regarding the will of the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, to stop the war in Ukraine; After a meeting with his Ukrainian couple, Volodimir Zelenski, regardless of the Pope’s funeral in the Vatican.
Trump and Zelenski held a brief meeting, which both described as positive, at a time of growing American pressure for Ukraine and Russia to reach a truce after more than three years of war.
The two leaders, sitting face to face and inclined to each other, according to the photos released by the Ukrainian presidency, talked for about fifteen minutes in the Basilica of San Pedro.
Zelenski expressed his desire for “a high to total and unconditional fire” and indicated in social networks that the meeting, “very symbolic”, had “the potential to become historical, if we achieve results.”
The White House, in turn, described the “very productive” meeting. Shortly after, Trump expressed doubts that Putin really wants peace.
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting in recent days missiles against civil areas, cities and towns,” Trump wrote in Truth Social.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to end the war,” he added.
The Ukrainian presidency mentioned the possibility of a second meeting this Saturday, but Trump finally left Rome just after the ceremony, to return to the United States.
It was the first meeting between the US and Ukrainian presidents since their heated discussion in Washington on February 28, when Trump and his vice president JD Vance vicely vaulted Zelenski in the Oval Office.
Diplomatic hustle
Dozens of heads of state or government and senior officials gathered this Saturday in Rome on the occasion of Pope Francis’s funeral, which opened the possibility of multiple diplomatic meetings out.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met with Zelenski and promised “the support” of the block at the negotiating table.
The Ukrainian president also spoke with the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, in the Chigi Palace. Both reiterated their support for Trump’s efforts to achieve just and lasting peace, said a statement from the ultra -right -wing leader’s office.
Trump and Zelenski also talked to the Vatican with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, two European nuclear powers that could have a key role in the security of Ukraine in case of truce cessation.
“Very positive exchange today with President Zelenski in Rome. End the war in Ukraine. This is the goal we share with President Trump,” Macron wrote in X.
Starmer and Zelenski “discussed the positive progress made in recent days” for peace in Ukraine and agreed to “continue working intensely with international partners,” said the British government in a statement.
Trump said Friday that an agreement between Ukraine and Russia was “very close”, after his emissary Steve Witkoff argued with Putin in Moscow the possibility of launching “direct negotiations” between both parties.
Putin also told Witkoff that he was willing to negotiate the end of the conflict in Ukraine “without preconditions,” the Kremlin added on Saturday.
There have been no direct negotiations between Russians and Ukrainians about the end of the conflict since the first months of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022.
Russia states that Kursk resumed
While the meetings occurred in Rome, Moscow announced that their soldiers regained control of the Russian region of Kursk, partially controlled by the Ukrainian troops since their surprise offensive in this border area in August 2024.
The Ukrainian army denied the Russian statements on Saturday and said that their troops continue to fight.
Putin made clear in the past that he was not willing to negotiate about the end of the conflict until the Ukrainian forces were completely “expelled” from the region.
If confirmed that Russia resumed control, Ukraine would remain without an important asset for a possible negotiation, especially since the situation of Ukrainian troops in the front worsened in recent months. kyiv also faces the threat that the United States withdraws your vital support.
Trump, whose teams also negotiate separately with the Ukrainians, said during his electoral campaign that he would quickly end the conflict.
Given the stagnation of the conversations, the American president seems to want to force Zelenski’s hand, but kyiv fears that his key ally forces him to accept too favorable conditions for the Kremlin.