Summary
- Zelensky
expressed willingness to join Trump-Putin talks in Budapest if invited. - He
described his White House meeting with Trump as “frank” but contentious. - Trump
urged Zelensky to accept Russia’s demands to avoid further destruction.
Following their phone conversation on Thursday, the
presidents of the US and Russia declared that they will meet in Budapest to
discuss the conflict in Ukraine, potentially within the next few weeks.
On Monday, Zelensky told reporters:
“If it is an
invitation in a format where we meet as three or, as it’s called, shuttle
diplomacy… then in one format or another, we will agree”.
According to media accounts, his Friday meeting with Trump
at the White House turned into a” crying match” in which the US
side pushed Ukraine to agree to Russia’s demands in order to stop the
conflict.
Indeed though Zelensky was diplomatic during his first press
conference since the accommodations, it was apparent from his reflections
that there were significant points of contention between the two parties.
He claimed he had told Trump that his primary goal was just
peace, not a speedy one, and characterized the
encounter as candid.
According to him, Viktor Orban, the prime minister of
Hungary, who is viewed by Kyiv and many EU leaders as a friend of the Kremlin,
is incapable of doing “anything positive for Ukrainians or even providing
a balanced contribution” when it comes to the potential Trump-Putin
meetings.
Trump stated that he wanted to “make it comfortable for
everybody” when questioning reporters on Friday about Zelensky’s participation
in the meeting in Budapest.
Moscow said Monday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a “constructive” phone
conversation over the summit in Budapest.
During his visit to the White House, Zelensky had intended
to get US Tomahawk missiles to launch attacks deep into Russia.
According to media accounts, the Trump-Zelensky encounter
had a much more heated mood than was previously thought.
According to sources involved with the discussion, the Financial
Times claimed that Trump had threatened Zelensky that if he did not accept its
terms, Putin would “destroy” Ukraine.
At the “volatile” meeting, the US side reportedly
repeated Russian talking points. Additionally, it stated that Trump demanded Zelensky
hand up the whole eastern Donbas region to Putin and threw out charts of the
Ukrainian battle line.
Shortly after the meeting, Trump stated on social media that
Russia and Ukraine “should stop where they are” that is, at the
present, expansive front line.
“Let both claim Victory, let History decide!”
he
said.
In response, Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine” will not
gift anything to the raider” but stated that he was prepared for an
immediate ceasefire.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s prophet, stated Monday that
Russia’s station on the proposed freezing of the frontal line
was” unchanged” but did n’t give any other information.
In addition to a number of other harsh demands, Moscow
has constantly called for the full departure of Ukrainian forces from the
country’s four southeast regions Donetsk, Luhansk( inclusively known as
Donbas), Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.
The demands, according to Kyiv and its allies, amount to a
de facto rendition.
Russia launched its full- scale irruption of Ukraine
in February 2022. It presently controls about 20% of Ukrainian homes,
including the southern Crimea peninsula Moscow adjoined in 2014, as well
as most- but not each- of the Donbas.
“We really didn’t get what we wanted,”
Ukrainian
political analyst Mykola Davyduik said of the latest Trump-Zelensky meeting.
“A few days after, we received some insights from the
meeting and some threats and pressure that the Ukrainian side received
there,”
he told the BBC.
But he added:
“I don’t think that Trump is fully and
completely on Putin’s side, and he is trying to play mediator… and that is
his kind of style and how he behaves in such a situation.”
In an effort to put more economic pressure on Moscow to halt
the war, the US president has been urging China, India, and other NATO
countries to cease buying Russian oil.
Additionally, although he never followed through on his
threats, Obama had previously threatened Russia with harsher penalties if Putin
failed to fulfill deadlines to advance the conclusion of the war.
After Trump and Vice-President JD Vance criticized the
Ukrainian president live on television during an Oval Office meeting in
February, Trump’s relationship with Zelensky had also significantly improved in
recent months.
Trump asserted throughout his reelection campaign that he
could put an end to the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of days.
What specific conditions has Ukraine set for joining a
Trump-Putin summit?
Ukraine, under President Volodymyr Zelensky, has set
specific conditions for joining an implicit Trump- Putin peak to
discuss ending the war. First, Ukraine insists it must be formally invited
to share in any concession involving its home and sovereignty.
Zelensky emphasized that any peace addresses must include
Ukraine’s direct involvement and consent to be legitimate. He
expressed willingness to attend if invited to a format involving all
three leaders or through shuttle diplomacy where Trump meets
independently with both Putin and Zelensky.
Secondly, Zelensky blamed Budapest, Hungary, as the proposed
venue due to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s pro-Russian station
and inimical position toward Kyiv, suggesting it isn’t a neutral or
balanced position for accommodations.
