A day after the two leaders had separate discussions with US President Donald Trump over the three-year conflict, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a warning not to believe Vladimir Putin’s claims to want peace, reports RTE.
Mr. Zelensky claimed to have “warned world leaders against trusting Putin’s claims of readiness to end the war” in a social media post after speaking with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It comes after Mr. Zelensky stated previously that he intended to reach an agreement with the United States to “stop Putin” before engaging in any peace negotiations with Russia, reports RTE.
The parties agreed to start Ukraine talks “immediately” after a lengthy phone conversation between Mr. Trump and Mr. Vladimir Putin yesterday.
“The Ukraine-America meetings are a priority for us. And only after such meetings, after a plan to stop Putin has been worked out, I think it is fair to talk to the Russians,” said Mr Zelensky, reports RTE.
This week, Mr. Zelensky and top Ukrainian officials are meeting with Trump supporters in Brussels, Kyiv, and at the Munich Security Conference.
The Ukrainian leader had called the discussion between Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky “meaningful” and “broad,” reports RTE.
Although he thought Ukraine was Mr. Trump’s first concern, he said it was “not very pleasant” that the US president had first talked to Mr. Putin.
The Ukrainian leader added that, without providing any details, Mr. Trump had informed him that he had hoped to talk with both Mr. Putin and himself simultaneously, reports RTE.
Mr. Zelensky said that he had warned Mr. Trump that Russia would probably strike Ukraine once more if security assurances were not provided.
Inclusion in any peace talks has been a demand made by Ukraine and its European partners.
However, Kyiv and NATO’s European allies expressed concern that the White House may strike a deal without them in response to Mr. Trump’s unilateral approach to Mr. Putin and his apparent compromises on Ukraine’s main objectives, reports RTE.
He stated that it was crucial to prevent Mr. Putin from pursuing his goal of bilateral talks with the United States.
In response to Mr. Trump’s peace offer, European officials publicly adopted an unusually tough stance, claiming that any deal would be difficult to carry out, reports RTE.
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