Trump takes a tough tone on Putin Post after meeting Zelenskyy’s “productive” at the pope’s funeral
Ukrainian President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a one-on-one funeral in the marble-lined cathedral on Saturday in an attempt to resume a staggering effort to end the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Zelenskyy said if the meeting provides the kind of peace he hoped for, and a White House spokesman called it “very productive.”
Zelenskyy’s office said the two leaders approached each other and sat in St. Peter’s Basilica without assistants around, for about 15 minutes. Images of the conference were published by Keefe and Washington.
It was the first meeting between the two presidents since they were angry in February at the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. and a critical moment to end the war in negotiations.
“Too many people are dying,” Trump wrote.
After Pope Francis’ funeral service at St. Peter’s Square, Trump boarded Air Force One and left Rome. While in the air, he made a social media post that gave a tough tone to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump posted on “Truth Social”: “In the past few days, Putin has no reason to fire missiles at civilians, cities and towns.” Twelve people were killed when Russian missiles hit Kiev apartment blocks on Thursday.
“It makes me think maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just poaching me and has to deal with it differently through ‘banking’ or ‘secondary sanctions’? Too many people are dying!!” Trump wrote.
Trump’s position went against his usual remarks, the harshest criticism of Zelenskyy, who spoke positively to Putin.
“Good meetings. One-on-one meetings, we managed to discuss a lot. We hope to get results from all the things we talked about.”
Zelenskyy thanks Trump after ‘Symbol’ meeting
The Ukrainian president said the topics include: “Protect the lives of our people. A complete and unconditional ceasefire. A reliable and lasting peace that will prevent the recurrence of war.”
Zelenskyy added: “This is a very symbolic meeting and if we achieve common results, it is possible to be a historic meeting. Thank you President Donald Trump!”
In the photos posted by Zelenskyy’s office, Ukrainian and American leaders sat in the cathedral hall about half a metre apart and leaned against each other during conversation. The assistant is not seen in the image.
In the second photo, from the same location, Zelenskyy, Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron stand in a nervous worries. Macron placed his hand on Zelensky’s shoulder.
After Trump and Zelenskyy met at the cathedral, two men joined other world leaders outside St. Peter’s Square at the funeral of Pope Francis, who pursued peace, including in Ukraine, which was the theme of his pope.
Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re preached at the funeral, recalling how Francis called for negotiations to end the conflict without stopping raising his voice.
“War is always worse than before: it is always painful and miserable failure for everyone,” the Cardinal said.
Territorial differences
Trump has been urging Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a ceasefire and peace agreement. He had previously warned that his government would get rid of efforts to achieve peace if the two sides did not reach an agreement soon.
There is a difference between Trump’s White House’s position in peace talks and the positions of Ukraine and its European allies after a round of shuttle diplomacy this week, according to documents obtained by Reuters.
Washington proposed legal recognition that Crimea, the Ukrainian Peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014, is Russian territory, which Kyiv and his allies in Europe said, is a red line they will not cross.
There are also differences in the signing of the peace agreement, what security guarantees Ukraine will have and how financial compensation will be financially, and how quickly sanctions against Russia will be imposed.
Trump and Zelenskyy have a difficult personal relationship. During an Oval Office meeting earlier this year, Trump accused Ukrainian leaders of “gambling with World War III.”
Russia appears to be heading in the opposite direction when the United States tries to push Ukraine toward a ceasefire. CBC’s Terence McKenna looks at the latest moves and why some think Vladimir Putin may have tried to manipulate Donald Trump through his billionaire real estate buddy.
Since then, Kyiv has tried to fix the relationship, but the barb has continued.
Zelenskyy said Trump was trapped in a “false information bubble” favoring Moscow, while U.S. leaders accused Zelenskyy of delaying the peace deal and issued a “inflammatory” statement.
But Trump asked Zelenskyy’s buy to achieve his ambition of rapid peace between Russia and Ukraine, while Kiev needs Trump to put pressure on Moscow to dilute some of the heavier truce conditions.
At the Oval Office meeting, a reporter from the American Conservative News Network accused Zelenskyy of not wearing a suit and disrespecting the occasion.
Zelenskyy has evaded lawsuits since the start of the full Russian invasion in 2022 in favor of military-style outfits, saying it was the way he showed with the nations fighting to defend Ukraine.
In Rome on Saturday, Zelensky wore a dark shirt with buttons without tie and a dark military jacket.
