Trump says Zelensky 'calmed down' and asked for 'more weapons'
The US President said Kiev was getting closer to an agreement with Moscow.
US President Donald Trump said that during the meeting at the Vatican, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky showed a "calmer" attitude and seemed more open to reaching a "deal" with Moscow than the previous scandalous meeting in the Oval Office.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One on April 27, Mr. Trump said that the atmosphere in the latest discussion with Mr. Zelensky was completely different from the "little argument" in February, when the Ukrainian delegation was asked to leave the White House.
"I think he's calmer. I think he understands the big picture. And I think he wants to make a deal. I'm not sure he wanted to make a deal before. But now, I think he does," Mr. Trump said.
Earlier this week, Mr. Trump also told Time magazine that “Crimea will remain with Russia” in any peace deal, noting that even Mr. Zelensky “understands” that reality, despite his frequent public statements to the contrary. Asked if he believed Mr. Zelensky was now ready to “give up” the peninsula, Mr. Trump replied: “Oh, I think so.”
Mr Zelensky has repeatedly and publicly stated that Kiev will never formally recognise Crimea as Russian territory — a stance that Mr Trump has previously criticised as “very harmful to peace talks”.
While describing Mr Zelensky as someone who “wants to do good for the country”, Mr Trump also revealed that the Ukrainian leader continued to ask Washington for more military assistance.
"He told me he needs more weapons, but he's been saying that for three years," Trump said. The US president stressed that Kiev is in a "very difficult situation," fighting "a much larger force" — and noted that "they've had a tremendous amount of support when we gave them $350 billion in weapons and cash."
"He needs more weapons, and we'll see how the situation develops with Russia," President Trump added, expressing "disappointment" over Moscow's renewed attacks in Ukraine.
After a brief lull in the Easter ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin last weekend, the Russian military has carried out several long-range strikes on Ukrainian military and industrial targets over the past week. Moscow insists it has only targeted military facilities used by Kiev’s forces, denying accusations of attacking civilian targets.
The Kremlin also once again stressed its readiness to negotiate with Kiev without preconditions. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the issue was raised during a meeting between President Putin and Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, on April 25.
Russian officials have repeatedly stressed that any viable long-term solution must reflect the territorial realities on the ground and address the root causes of the conflict. Washington’s proposal, according to multiple sources, aims to freeze the conflict along the current front lines and recognize Crimea as part of Russia. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said – unlike Mr Zelensky – Moscow would not disclose details of the negotiations with the US until the process is complete.
