Trump has Zelenskyj as a guest

Ukraine war

Trump has Zelenskyj as a guest – but first Putin on the phone

Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine, whose president rejects ceding territory. What is at stake in the conversation with Trump and why Ukraine is demanding more support.

At the start of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Donald Trump expressed confidence that an end to the almost four-year war in Ukraine can be agreed. Both warring parties, including the Russians, wanted an end to the fighting, he said in front of the entrance to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where he received Zelensky. But he has no deadlines for this, said Trump, although he has set such deadlines several times in the past.

The Russian side was not present at the bilateral talks in Palm Beach. Shortly beforehand, Trump had spoken on the phone with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and called the conversation “good and very productive.”

Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov reported that Trump agreed with the Kremlin chief that a ceasefire would only “prolong the conflict and risk a resumption of fighting.” Zelensky had called for a 60-day ceasefire to allow the population to evaluate a peace plan in a referendum.

Ushakov also said that Putin had agreed to the American side’s proposal to continue work on resolving the Ukraine crisis within the framework of specially established working groups. Accordingly, one of these groups will deal with “various aspects of security problems”, the other with “issues of the economic sector”. He said nothing about the composition. Russia attacked the neighboring country in February 2022; Since then, Ukraine has been defending itself against the invasion with Western help.

Trump said that possible territorial cessions should also be part of the talks with Zelensky, but that Ukraine should receive “major economic benefits.” After the meeting he wanted to speak to Putin again on the phone. Trump also said that they wanted to talk to the Europeans.

It is not the first time that the US President spoke to Putin on the phone shortly before a meeting with Zelensky. When the Ukrainian was last in the White House in October to ask the US for approval to sell the US Tomahawk cruise missile to Kiev, Trump had spoken to Putin on the phone the day before. Zelensky did not get the tomahawk weapon back then. The US government sees itself as a mediator in the conflict.

Before the meeting, Zelenskyj had written on X that Russia was showing with its daily air strikes that it had no interest in a peace agreement. This week alone, Russia fired more than 2,100 attack drones, around 800 glide bombs and 94 missiles. “Everything against our people, against life and everything that makes it normal – especially against our energy infrastructure.” He called on his country’s Western partners to maintain all sanctions and political pressure against Russia.