Trump Expresses Frustration over Stalled Putin-Zelenskyy Talks
WASHINGTON – Former U.S. President Donald Trump held a virtual meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a group of European leaders on Thursday too discuss diplomatic efforts to end the war between Russia and ukraine, revealing his increasing frustration with the difficulty of arranging direct talks between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump told CBS News on wednesday,”I was following the matter,I was seeing it,and I talked about it with President Putin and President Zelenskyy… but they are not yet ready.” He has reportedly been attempting to broker a meeting between the two leaders, but has yet to achieve any tangible progress.
Zelenskyy has stated his willingness to meet with Putin, but the Russian side insists that the conditions and goals of any meeting must be negotiated beforehand. on Wednesday,Putin indicated he was prepared to meet Zelenskyy in Moscow,a proposal Ukrainian officials rejected due to concerns for Zelenskyy’s safety.
The discussions involving Trump followed a meeting in Paris between Zelenskyy and European leaders from a coalition of Western countries working to establish security guarantees for Ukraine. Ukrainian officials revealed that Zelenskyy presented a range of options, centered around a strong Ukrainian military, a European military presence within Ukraine, and a U.S. “support network.”
Kiev proposed a framework where countries unable or unwilling to deploy large forces could contribute thru combat aircraft, air support, intelligence sharing, naval deployments in the Black Sea, small military units, or financial aid - a concept described as “forces on the ground and flags on the ground.”
According to Ukrainian officials, the discussions focused on coordinating contributions to security across multiple domains: land, sea, air, and cybersecurity, and aligning positions on security guarantees.
