Zelenskyy and Putin do not necessarily need to meet to sign peace agreement, - Trump

US President Donald Trump believes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian dictator Putin do not necessarily need to be in the same room to sign a peace agreement. He cited the "enormous" personal animosity between the leaders as the main reason why they have not yet reached a peace agreement.

Trump told reporters this at the White House, according to Censor.NET.

On the signing of the agreement

Journalists asked whether Zelenskyy and Putin would have to sign the peace agreement in person. Trump replied:

"I don’t know. It depends on the circumstances. They don’t necessarily have to be in the same room. I think they can do it another way. It’s difficult for them to be in the same room."

According to him, he does not care exactly how the parties agree to end the war.

Trump also claims that Zelenskyy could have secured a more favourable deal during their meeting in the Oval Office in March 2025 than the one he can expect now.

"Hatred" between the leaders

According to Trump, one of the main obstacles to a peace deal is the personal animosity between Zelenskyy and Putin.

"The animosity between President Putin and President Zelenskyy is immense. I think that is the main reason why they have not yet been able to reach an agreement," he said.