Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump met on June 25 on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
The Ukrainian president said that during their conversation with Trump, they covered all the “really important issues”. In particular, the leaders talked about how to achieve a ceasefire and real peace, as well as how to protect Ukrainians.
"I thank Mr. President, I thank the United States. [...] We appreciate the attention and willingness to help bring peace closer," Volodymyr Zelensky wrote, adding that details of the meeting will be forthcoming.
UPD. The President of Ukraine said that they, in particular, discussed the situation on the battlefield. Zelensky showed Trump the facts of what is really happening.
Zelensky also told Trump about the technical team meetings in Istanbul and the exchange of prisoners and dead. Russia handed over the bodies of its own dead to Kyiv. They also discussed the possible joint production of drones and the protection of Ukrainians.
First of all, it was about the purchase of American air defense systems to cover cities, churches, and infrastructure. Ukraine is ready to buy this equipment and support US arms manufacturers, Zelensky stressed, adding that Europe can help in this.
The President of Ukraine congratulated Trump on the successful operation in the Middle East and emphasized that it is important that US actions have weakened not only Iranʼs nuclear program, but also the production of drones.
Trump also commented on his conversation with the Ukrainian leader. At a press conference, he called the meeting with Zelensky “great” and said he was glad to see the Ukrainian president, who was “nice”.
When asked by reporters whether they had discussed a ceasefire with the Ukrainian president, Trump replied: “No, I just wanted to see how he was doing.” The US president said that if he could, he would talk to Putin about “whether we can stop the war”.
"They are brave people. He is fighting his war and reclaiming his country. It is a very difficult battle that he is fighting, but he is successful in it," Trump said.
Presidential spokesman Sergei Nikiforov told reporters that the presidentsʼ meeting lasted about 50 minutes.
- This is the first meeting of the presidents since Ukraine and Russia resumed direct talks. The last time the presidents spoke live was at the funeral of Pope Francis on April 26. The conversation then lasted about 15 minutes.
- Axios reported that Trump and Zelensky were scheduled to meet on the second day of the G7 summit in Canada, which was focused on supporting Ukraine. However, the US president left the event early, citing the escalation in the Middle East between Iran and Israel as the official reason.
- The Financial Times later reported that Trump was not interested in meeting with Zelensky, which was one of the reasons he left the summit early. This was also influenced by irritation with French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited Greenland on June 15 and opposed Trumpʼs plans to take control of it.
- In the wake of the US president leaving the G7 leadersʼ meeting early, NATO has shortened the upcoming summit to a single working session so that "Trump doesnʼt get bored and leave early". The summit was originally planned to last three days, but has now been shortened to a single two-and-a-half-hour working session.
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