The president also described his meeting with Zelenskyy in the Vatican, saying ‘I think he understands the picture, and I think he wants to make a deal.’
President Donald Trump on April 27 urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt attacks on Ukraine and accept a cease-fire agreement, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the coming week will be “very critical” in determining whether the United States will continue in its efforts to broker a deal.
Trump made the remarks following his
meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican in Rome on April 26.
Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, Trump said the meeting “went well” and that Zelenskyy had conveyed Ukraine’s need for more weapons to defend itself against Russian forces.
“I see him as calmer. I think he understands the picture, and I think he wants to make a deal,” the president said. “We’ll see what happens over the next few days.”
Zelenskyy
described the meeting as good and “very symbolic,” stating that it could become historic “if we achieve joint results.”
Trump said he was “surprised” and “very disappointed” that Russia launched attacks on Ukraine after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on April 25.
“I want him to stop shooting, sit down, and sign the deal,” Trump stated while referring to the Russian leader. “We have the confines of the deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it.”
Putin’s aide, Yuri Ushakov, has
described the three-hour meeting between Witkoff and Putin as “constructive” but did not offer details. Before departing for Rome on April 25, Trump stated that “most of the major points” have been agreed upon and that the two nations were “very close” to reaching a deal.
Meanwhile, Rubio
told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on April 27 that the U.S. government may abandon efforts to mediate an end to the three-year-long war if Russia and Ukraine fail to make an agreement.
“I think they’re closer in general than they’ve been any time in the last three years but it’s still not there,” he said in the interview. “We cannot continue, as I said, to dedicate time and resources to this effort if it’s not going to come to fruition.”
Rubio stated that the coming week would be “very critical,” as the United States must determine whether to continue its involvement in the Russia-Ukraine peace talks or shift focus to other important issues.
He added that the United States may opt to take measures against those resisting efforts to end the war but emphasized that it would “prefer not to get to that stage yet because we think it closes the door to diplomacy.”
Trump criticized Putin on April 26 for targeting Ukraine’s civilian areas with missiles while the peace talk efforts are ongoing, casting doubts on whether the Russian leader intends to end the war.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions,’” Trump stated in a Truth Social
post.
The war in Ukraine has been ongoing since Putin sent thousands of troops for a full invasion in February 2022. Putin
declared an “Easter truce” on April 19, directing his forces to halt all military operations until midnight of April 20. Both sides later
accused each other of violating the truce. The Russian military said on April 21 that it has resumed the “special military operation” after the truce ended.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
told CBS News on April 24 that Russia is “ready to reach a deal” but said there “are still some specific points—elements of this deal which need to be fine-tuned.”
Ukraine had agreed to a U.S. cease-fire proposal 45 days ago, Zelenskyy
said, and made “a direct proposal” to Russia to halt strikes on civilian targets but was rejected by Russia.
