Axios: Trump asked Putin to offer Kiev and Europe what they can agree with

During a telephone conversation with President Vladimir Zelensky and European leaders, US President Donald Trump said he had asked for Russian leader Vladimir Putin to make a proposal that Ukraine and Europeans would not dismiss immediately.

Source: ”European Truth« , Axios with reference to sources

Details: After the conversation with Putin, Trump called Zelensky. The conversation was also joined by the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, Finland and the European Commission.

Advertising:

Trump told the leaders that Putin agreed to immediately start direct ceasefire negotiations. The source that participated in the conversation said it was a few seconds of surprised silence.

Zelensky then noted that Putin had previously agreed to negotiations, and the first round of ceasefire negotiations took place on Friday in Istanbul. Trump did not respond directly, sources reported.

The sources reported that Zelensky and several other leaders who participated in the conversation said Trump that it was his idea to start peace talks with the immediate 30-day ceasefire.

The White House representative reported Axios that Trump « never agreed » to the fact that the ceasefire should be a prerequisite for negotiations, and never said that Zelensky could decide what the negotiation conditions would be.

Trump told the leaders that Putin would present a « peaceful memorandum » with his conditions of truce and end of the war.

The source that participated in the conversation reported that Trump told Zelensky and European leaders that he asked Putin to present « something with which they (Ukraine and Europeans) could agree », not the proposal that would be rejected immediately.

Zelensky said that the previous rounds of negotiations with Putin, including last week, did not produce any results, and stressed that if Trump did not press, Putin would not give way, the source reported.

The White House Representative stated that for months Russia refused to present a document with its vision of the end of the war, and the fact that Putin agreed to do it is a significant step forward.

The leaders who participated in the telephone conversation seemed surprised that Trump was relatively pleased with Putin and presented it as a new development of events, although the Russian leader, apparently, did not change their position at all, sources reported.

Recall US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected the critic The administration’s policies on Ukraine and stated that President Donald Trump did not make any concessions of Russia.

Trump after talking with Putin on May 19 stated that Ukraine and Russia « immediately » will start negotiations about ceasefire.

In his post, the US President did not mention the administration’s demand for unconditional ceasefire, which Putin openly rejected, Neither about potential sanction pressure in case of Moscow’s refusal to make concessions.