Trump urged Ukraine's Zelenskyy to make concessions to Russia in tense meeting, sources say
U.S. President Donald Trump pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to give up swaths of territory to Russia during a tense meeting on Friday that left the Ukrainian delegation disappointed, according to two people briefed on the discussion, News.az reports, citing Reuters.
Trump also declined to provide Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine's use, and mused about giving security guarantees to both Kyiv and Moscow, comments that the Ukrainian delegation found confusing, added the two sources, who requested anonymity to discuss a private conversation.
After his meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump publicly called for a ceasefire on the current frontlines, a position that the Ukrainian president then embraced in comments to reporters. A third person said Trump came up with that proposal during the meeting after Zelenskyy said he would not voluntarily cede any territory to Moscow.
"The meeting ended with (Trump's) decision to make a 'deal where we are, on the demarcation line,'" the third source said.
Trump underscored that position in remarks to reporters on Sunday.
"We think that what they should do is just stop at the lines where they are, the battle lines," he said on Air Force One. "The rest is very tough to negotiate if you're going to say, 'you take this, we take that.'"
Asked if he had told Zelenskyy that Ukraine must cede all of the Donbas region to Russia, Trump said no. "Let it be cut the way it is. It's cut up right now. I think 78% of the land is already taken by Russia," Trump said in response to a question from a Reuters reporter.
"You leave it the way it is right now. They can...negotiate something later on down the line," he said.
Overall, while not a disaster for the Ukrainians, the Friday discussion was a clear disappointment for Zelenskyy, who had hoped to convince Trump to supply his government with long-range Tomahawk missiles capable of hitting deep inside Russia.
Similar news
