 "US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in The Hague, Netherlands. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters")
US President Donald Trump is swinging his support back and forth between Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. In his latest comments on the Russia-Ukraine war, the US president has shown sympathy towards his Ukrainian counterpart and blamed the Russian president for escalating tensions.
Trump met Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the Nato Summit and said, “Vladimir Putin really has to end that war. People are dying at levels that people haven’t seen before for a long time,” adding that the Ukrainian president is “very nice”.
Although the 50-minute-long meeting happened behind closed doors, sources told the Financial Times that Trump expressed frustration about the ongoing situation in Ukraine, which he said was “getting out of control.”
“I wanted to know how he’s doing. He was very nice, actually. He’s fighting a tough battle. It’s a tough battle,” Trump said after the meeting, referring to Zelenskyy. This was the second face-to-face meeting between the two leaders after the Oval Office showdown earlier this year.
Trump calls Putin ‘more difficult’
On the other hand, Trump has called Russian President Putin the “more difficult” leader to negotiate with. “It’s more difficult than people would have any idea. Vladimir Putin has been more difficult. Vladimir Putin really has to end that war,” he said.
The US president also said that Putin offered him help to resolve the Israel-Iran conflict , to which Trump said, “No, thank you. I need help with you.”
After his meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump said that he is going to “see if we can get it ended” but fell short of providing any details of a possible conversation.
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More ShortsWhen Trump swung close to Putin
Trump’s recent comments were a surprising turnaround from what he has been saying about Zelenskyy publicly. In April, Trump accused the Ukrainian president of making “very harmful” statements after he pushed back on ceding occupied Crimea to Russia.
“This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia. It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War. He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,” Trump said.
However, the major bickering happened in the Oval Office when Zelenskyy was humiliated by Trump and his Vice President, JD Vance.
“Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. You’re in no position to dictate what we’re gonna feel. You’re right now, not in a very good position. You don’t have the cards right now… You’re gambling with WWIII. It’s going to be very hard to do business like this. You’ve got to be more thankful,” Trump had said when Zelenskyy tried to make a point.