Trump believes that direct Ukraine–Russia talks are most important - Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared details of his phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, May 19.
As reported by Censor.NET, Zelenskyy spoke about the call during a press briefing.
He confirmed that there were two conversations with the U.S. President: the first one took place before Trump’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the second — after that call.
The second conversation also included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
"President Trump believes that direct talks between Ukraine and Russia are the most important. That is his position, which he clearly expressed. We spoke about it at length. He believes the Russian side will be sending certain signals about a possible ceasefire and their vision for the next steps. I, in turn, told President Trump that if Russia’s proposals are not supported by the Ukrainian side, we would like to discuss it and ask that the United States treat such a situation as Russia’s unwillingness to end the war — especially if unacceptable terms are proposed. For now, these are general discussions, which is why I also raised the possibility of strong, serious sanctions," Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy also said that venues for the next meeting between representatives of Russia and Ukraine are being considered.
"We are considering a meeting of all the teams again. We want it to take place at a high level - America, Ukraine, Russia, European countries, and the UK. Such a meeting could be held in Turkey, the Vatican or Switzerland. We are now analysing these three venues, because all three countries, all three places are good options," Zelenskyy added.
