The Ukrainian president said the two touched on a potential ceasefire and “a real peace,” but the US president later said they did not discuss a ceasefire.
President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed a “long and substantive meeting” with US President Donald Trump after the two met on the sidelines of Wednesday’s NATO summit.
After the talks, which sources in Ukraine’s Presidential Office told AFP lasted around 50 minutes, Zelensky issued a brief update on X, thanking Trump and saying that they had addressed a potential ceasefire and “a real peace.”
“I had a long and substantive meeting with President Trump @POTUS. We covered all the truly important issues. I thank Mr. President, I thank the United States,” Zelensky wrote.
“We discussed how to achieve a ceasefire and a real peace. We spoke about how to protect our people. We appreciate the attention and the readiness to help bring peace closer,” he added.
Zelensky, who wore a suit, perhaps for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale war, said more details of their conversations will follow.
After the meeting, Trump said in a press conference that he did not discuss a ceasefire with Zelensky, but had simply wanted to know how Zelensky was doing.
Trump added that he will talk to Russian leader Vladimir Putin “maybe next week” in another bid to end Russia’s ongoing invasion.
When asked by a reporter why he has not been able to end the Ukraine war as promised, Trump said it has been more difficult than expected.
He also said Putin “has been more difficult.”
“Vladimir Putin has been more difficult, and frankly, I had some problems with Zelensky, you might have read about them,” Trump said, referring to his earlier criticisms of Zelensky.
Trump also praised Zelensky for fighting a “brave” and “tough” battle despite his earlier criticisms of the Ukrainian president, meanwhile acknowledging that Putin might have a territorial ambition beyond Ukraine.
Trump also addressed Ukraine’s desire for Patriot missiles at the press conference, saying he will look into possible ways to help Kyiv acquire them.
“So let me just tell you, they do want to have the anti-missile missiles, as they call them, the Patriots, and we’re going to see if we can make some available.”
“They’re very hard to get. We need them, we were supplying them to Israel, and they’re very effective, 100% effective. Hard to believe how effective. And they do want that more than anything,” Trump said.
It is unclear if Patriot provisions were part of the conversation between Trump and Zelensky.
Before the meeting, Zelensky was expected to focus on securing more military aid, strengthening future defense and political ties, and clarifying the US role in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security.
Meanwhile, the President’s Office has not disclosed agenda details, saying that everything depends on the final coordination of both leaders’ schedules.
Leo Chiu, Kyiv Post
