Trump changes attitude towards Zelenskyy and Putin - Financial Times
US President Donald Trump has expressed sympathy for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling him "very nice" after their meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit, while taking a tougher stance against the aggressor country of Russia.
As Censor.NET informs, the Financial Times writes about this.
"Vladimir Putin really has to end this war," Trump said, emphasizing that many people are becoming victims of it.
The FT also drew attention to the American leader's thesis that when Putin offered him mediation in the Iran-Israel conflict, he replied: "No, you can help me with Russia."
Trump wavered in his attitude toward the Ukrainian president and the Russian dictator, the FT writes. This culminated in a public spat with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in February, after which Washington suspended military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine for a while.
At the same time, Trump seemed to be more understanding of Putin from the beginning. They had several phone conversations, and the US and Russia were engaged in direct peace talks. However, in recent weeks, the US president has become increasingly frustrated with the Russian dictator because of his maximalist demands and refusal to agree to a ceasefire in the war against Ukraine.
On the sidelines of the summit, Trump also said that the war in Ukraine was "getting out of control," two people present in the room at the time told the publication.
"I think what I took away from the meeting could not have been better, really. But what I took away from the meeting is that he would like to see it end," the White House chief said.
Trump also announced his intention to talk to the Russian dictator.
"I think now is the time to put an end to this. I'm going to talk to Putin and see if we can end it," the US president said.
Trump also said that the war in Ukraine has shown the need to urgently rebuild the defense industrial base, and that neither the United States nor its allies can "afford to depend on foreign adversaries for critical minerals."
The FT also pointed out that the meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump took place against the backdrop of Russia accelerating its summer offensive and increasing production of missiles and drones.
Zelenskyy appealed to the American leader to sell Ukraine more weapons, including Patriot air defense systems and interceptor missiles to protect Ukrainian skies. Trump said that the possibility of supplying Ukraine with more Patriot missiles is being considered, although America and Israel also need them.
As a reminder, the US and Ukrainian presidents met on June 25 on the sidelines of the NATO summit, and the meeting lasted about 50 minutes.
