Trump and Zelensky have a mild meeting at the NATO summit, but do not discuss a ceasefire, months after a confrontation at the White House.
Organizers of the meeting were concerned about minimizing direct interaction between the presidents, citing Trump's disdain for Zelensky.
247 - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was quick to announce positive results from his meeting with US President Donald Trump during the NATO summit, stating that they discussed a ceasefire—something Trump denied. This information comes from the Russian news agency Sputnik.
“We discussed how to achieve a ceasefire and real peace,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
Trump, however, denied the information.
The White House chief announced a future conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, without specifying the date, and stated that he did not discuss a ceasefire with Zelensky during their meeting on Wednesday (25).
“No, no. I wanted to know how he is. It was a very good meeting, actually. We had some difficult moments. But [the meeting] couldn’t have been better,” Trump said during a press conference after the summit, when asked if he discussed the ceasefire with Zelensky.
Trump added, however, that Zelensky is seeking a solution to the conflict with Russia and stressed that this is a "great time" to achieve that goal.
The presidents met on the sidelines of the NATO summit, the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported on Wednesday. The meeting was significantly less tense than the one in February, when they argued loudly and in front of cameras in the Oval Office of the White House.
Earlier, Trump had confirmed the meeting with Zelensky, stating that they would discuss the challenges faced by Ukraine in the conflict involving Russia and NATO.
According to the report, the meeting lasted 40 minutes. Ukrainian parliamentarian Oleksiy Goncharenko stated that the discussions took place without the presence of the press.
During the group photo session, Zelensky and Trump were positioned in different rows and on opposite sides of their Dutch hosts, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.
At the gala dinner, the two presidents were also seated at separate tables, as shown in the C-SPAN broadcast.
On Tuesday (24), The Washington Post reported that the summit organizers were trying to downplay direct interaction between the presidents of Ukraine and the US, citing Trump's disdain for Zelensky.
The NATO summit is being held in The Hague on June 24th and 25th.
Tension in the Oval Office; a reminder - On February 28, Trump met with Zelensky in Washington to finalize the minerals agreement, but negotiations broke down after a heated exchange in the Oval Office. On March 11, the U.S. and Ukraine agreed to sign a comprehensive agreement for the development of Ukrainian mineral resources.
On April 23, Trump criticized Zelensky's "inflammatory" statements about Kiev's refusal to recognize Crimea as part of Russia, stating that such remarks undermine peace negotiations and could further prolong the conflict. On Friday, Trump confirmed that the current peace arrangement under discussion involves the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory.