Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met US President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday. The meeting comes at a pivotal moment for Kyiv as Zelensky tries to persuade the White House to provide some form of US backing for Ukraine’s security against any aggression by Russia in future.
The two leaders shook hands as they greeted each other and posed in front of the journalists, Trump with his pumped fists. The Ukrainian leader is “all dressed up today,” Trump joked.
The US President did not respond to shouted questions from reporters on whether the two leaders would sign a deal.
During the meeting, Trump said Ukraine will have to make “compromises” in the Russia truce while Zelensky highlighted the US backstop as “crucial” for peacekeepers.
During a joint appearance, Zelensky said that he thinks Trump is “on our side” as the two began the summit. “I want to discuss what the US will be ready to do,” he said, adding that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin must be stopped.
In the Oval Office, where the two leaders held the meeting, Trump told Zelensky that Ukrainian soldiers had been unbelievably brave and talked up an economic agreement between their two countries.
On the minerals deal, Trump said it is a “big commitment” from the US. The United States has little of the rare earth minerals that are abundant in Ukraine, Trump said, adding those resources will support uses in the U.S. including artificial intelligence and military weapons.
Zelensky talked about the prospect of liquid natural gas exports to Europe, however, gently disagreed when Trump repeated his claim that Europe “did much less” than Washington to support Ukraine against Russia.
The Ukrainian President called Putin a “killer” and a “terrorist”. He told Trump there should be “no compromises with a killer” and brought along printed photos to show Trump, but journalists in the room could not see them, reported the Associated Press.
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