Trump, about trying to organize the Zelenski -Putin meeting: “It's like trying to mix the oil with vinegar.”
Donald Trump, Volodimir Zelenski and Vladimir Putin. Collage: Ion Mateș / Hotnews. Photo: Profimedia, Shutterstock
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that organizing a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski and Russian leader Vladimir Putin is “as if you were trying to mix the oil with vinegar,” according to AFP.
The leader of the United States has said that he is unhappy with how peace efforts are going and estimated that in two weeks he will know if progress is possible, a context in which he again evoked the possibility of “massive sanctions” against Russia.
“We will see if Putin and Zelenski will be able to work together. You know, it's like oil and vinegar, in a way. They don't understand each other for obvious reasons,” Trump told Washington journalists.
He added that “we will see” if you need to participate in such a meeting. According to Reuters, he said, however, he would prefer not to be present.
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, said on Friday that Russia is doing everything he can to meet between him and his Kremlin counterpart and urged Kiev's allies to introduce new sanctions if Moscow shows no interest in peace.
Zelenski has repeatedly applied for a meeting with Putin, and US President Donald Trump said his Russian counterpart had organized such a summit during a bilateral conversation when they were at the White House Volodimir Zelenski and a series of European leaders.
“The Russians do everything they can to prevent the meeting,” Zelenski said on Friday.
“Unlike Russia, Ukraine is not afraid of any meeting with leaders,” he concluded.
Also on Friday, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs said “no meeting” between Russia and Ukraine's presidents is planned.
“No meeting is planned,” Sergei Lavrov said in an interview for the show “Meet with Kristen Welker” at the NBC, according to AFP.
Minister Lavrov claims that President Vladimir Putin will be ready to have a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart “when there is an agenda for the summit”, but “at this time there is no”.
Asked by journalists on Thursday, the head of Russian diplomacy had also discussed the “lack of legitimacy” of Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, according to statements quoted by Reuters and Kommersant.
