In a social media post, Trump said the call was to “align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs” as he seeks to bring about a ceasefire between the two countries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with his US counterpart Donald Trump
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with his US counterpart Donald Trump
Photo: AP
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy engaged in a phone conversation for about an hour on Wednesday and Trump says, "We are very much on track".
This call takes place a day after he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a social media post, Trump said the call was to “align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs” as he seeks to bring about a ceasefire between the two countries.
“We are very much on track,” Trump added, saying he asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz to provide more details on the conversation in a forthcoming statement.
Trump spoke Tuesday with Putin about a possible partial ceasefire. Putin agreed not to target energy infrastructure but refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire.
The White House described it as the first step in a “movement to peace” it hopes will eventually include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and a full and lasting end to the fighting.
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This takes place weeks after President Donald Trump shouted at Ukraine's President during an unusual meeting in the Oval Office where he slammed Zelenskyy for “gambling with millions of lives” and suggesting his actions could trigger World War III.
Zelenskyy was asked to leave the White House without signing a critical minerals deal with the US that Trump had demanded and suggested was a condition for future support for Ukraine.
The last 10 minutes of the nearly 45-minute engagement devolved into a tense back and forth between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy — who had urged skepticism about Russia's commitment to diplomacy, citing Moscow's years of broken commitments on the global stage.
It had begun with Vance telling Zelenskyy, “Mr. President, with respect. I think it's disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.”
Zelenskyy tried to object which led to Trump to shout and say, “You're gambling with the lives of millions of people.”
“You're gambling with World War III, and what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that's backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have,” Trump said.