Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington on Thursday to meet with representatives of American arms and energy companies. On Friday evening Polish time around 19 was supposed to come to the White House and talk privately with Donald Trump. However, everything was delayed. The limousine of the President of Ukraine arrived at the meeting place around 7:30 p.m.
Donald Trump came out to greet Volodymyr Zelensky. There was a symbolic handshake. Both politicians posed for photos for a while and disappeared behind the doors of the White House.
Volodymyr Zelensky talks with Donald Trump. First statements
“Thank you very much for the invitation. Congratulations on achieving a ceasefire in the Middle East. This is a good moment to end the war in Ukraine. I am convinced that Putin is not ready, but with your help we can end this war. Russia is making no progress and has huge losses in terms of economy and people. This is a good moment,” said Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I think he looks great in a jacket,” said Donald Trump, commenting on Volodymyr Zelensky's outfit. “If Putin didn't want to end this war, I wouldn't talk to him. I think he wants to end it, President Zelensky wants to end it, now it has to be done“- added the US president.
“President Trump has truly shown the world that he can achieve a ceasefire in the Middle East. I hope that it will also do this for us, that it will be a great success for us” – said Volodymyr Zelensky when asked about the differences between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
What next with the war in Ukraine?
Time for leaders to talk face-to-face is limited. According to media reports, at 21 Donald Trump is to leave the White House and go to Florida. The meeting was originally announced as a conversation in the Oval Office with cameras present. According to the latest information, however, the discussion will take the form of a working lunch.
A Trump-Putin meeting is scheduled to take place within the next two weeks.
One of the topics of Friday's conversation between the presidents of the United States and Ukraine was to be long-range missiles that could hit targets far inside Russia. The prospects of the United States transferring new types of weapons to Ukraine have weakened after President Donald Trump's conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Moments before Friday's conversation at the White House, the Ukrainian side announced that this topic was disappearing from the agenda.
