An anonymous AFP source said that The American leader “insisted that Ukrainian troops withdraw from those parts of the Donetsk region still under Kiev's control.”. According to the source, this was said to be one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's demands, conveyed to Trump the day before during their telephone conversation.
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Ukrainian official on details of the Trump-Zelensky meeting
A Ukrainian official described the meeting as “tense and difficult”, emphasizing that the delegation from Kiev had the impression that American diplomacy was “going around in circles” and not bringing any concrete results.
The statement of the representative of the Ukrainian authorities quoted by AFP confirms the reports of the Financial Times, which also reported that Donald Trump, during talks with Volodymyr Zelensky, pressed for the return of Donbas in exchange for a ceasefire. According to the British daily Trump allegedly warned that Vladimir Putin threatened to “destroy Ukraine” if Kiev did not agree to Russian conditions.
The Washington Post, in turn, wrote earlier that During a phone call on Thursday, Putin demanded that Trump hand over full control over the Donetsk region to Russia. According to the American daily, the Russian leader in return suggested the possibility of a “partial withdrawal” from two other occupied regions of Ukraine – the Zaporizhia and Kherson oblasts.
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As AFP reminds, this was Volodymyr Zelensky's first visit to the White House since Donald Trump took office as US president. The meeting was to focus mainly on the situation on the front and the future of US military support for Ukraine.
The White House has not yet commented on the reports from AFP and the Financial Times. A spokesman for the US administration refused to comment on the content of the talks between the two leaders, only emphasizing that “the US goal remains achieving lasting peace.”
Meanwhile, the authorities in Kiev have not officially confirmed that any arrangements have been made in this matter.
