Financial Times: Tense meeting between Trump and Zelensky at the White House
The Financial Times reported that the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky witnessed heated exchanges and repeated shouting from Trump.
According to the sources, Trump urged Zelensky to accept Russia’s terms for ending the war, warning him that Russian President Vladimir Putin would “destroy Ukraine” if no agreement was reached.
The Financial Times added that during the meeting, Trump threw maps of the front lines before Zelensky, demanding that he cede the Donbas region to Russia, in a scene that sources described as tense and emotional.
Trump urged Zelensky during a tense meeting in Washington to accept Russia’s terms or Ukraine would be destroyed.
The Financial Times added, citing sources, that “Trump urged Zelensky to accept Russia’s terms for ending the Ukrainian crisis during a volatile meeting at the White House on Friday, warning that Ukraine would be destroyed if it didn’t agree to the terms”.
The meeting between Trump and Zelensky turned tense several times, as the maps of the front lines in Ukraine that were presented were ignored, and the US president insisted on territorial concessions from Kyiv to achieve a settlement.
It’s worth noting that Zelensky and his team visited the White House to persuade Trump to supply them with Tomahawk missiles, but the US president ultimately refused.
Trump expressed confidence in the possibility of reaching a settlement in Ukraine, stressing that events are going well and peace will come without the need for Tomahawks.
Trump also emphasized that the United States couldn’t be put at risk by supplying weapons to Ukraine at the expense of American interests.
In another context, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday, that he was willing to participate in the upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, if invited.
“If I am invited to Budapest, if it’s an invitation in the form of the three of us meeting, or… President Trump meeting with Putin and President Trump meeting with me, then in one form or another, we will agree,” Zelensky told reporters published Monday.
Separately, Zelensky emphasized that Kyiv needs 25 US-made Patriot air defense systems to counter Russian strikes, emphasizing that frozen Russian assets should be used to finance their purchase.
