‘Family photo’ and ‘important discussions’
After roughly an hour, Trump’s talks with Zelensky concluded with the pair joining European leaders for a “family photo” in the White House.
Attention then shifted to a multilateral session in the East Room, where the US leader opened discussions with the Prime Minister and other assembled leaders.
“We’ve had a very successful day thus far, and important discussions as we work to end the killing and stop the war in Ukraine, we’re all working toward the same goal, very simple goal, we want to stop the killing, get this settled,” the president said. In their private meeting, Trump told the leaders that he and Zelenskyy had “covered a lot of territory”.
“We’re going to try and work out a trilateral after that and see if we can get it finished, put this to sleep, because this is, not since the Second World War has there been anything like this,” he said.
Expressing confidence in the outcome, Trump said he was “optimistic” the leaders could reach an agreement that would “deter any future aggression against Ukraine.”
He added that discussions would include “the possible exchanges of territory” and would have to reflect the current “war lines.”
“Thank you for the map, by the way,’’ Zelensky said, an indication that the land swaps issues were being debated in detail.
Significantly, he said that territorial concessions, the most sensitive issue in these talks, would be settled in an as-yet-unscheduled face-to-face meeting with Putin.
The president also acknowledged calls for an end to the fighting
“All of us would prefer an immediate ceasefire,” he said. “But it would be up to Zelensky and Putin to work that out. As of this moment, it’s not happening.”