US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is reluctant to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ‘because he doesn’t like him.’
“Why is Putin so reluctant to meet with Zelenskyy?” Trump was asked in the Oval Office, to which he responded: “Because he doesn’t like him.”
Trump confirmed that he spoke again with Putin following their phone call last week, when he tried to line up direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv. But despite what Trump described as a “good conversation,” no breakthrough emerged.
“Every conversation I have with him is a good conversation,” Trump said. “And then, unfortunately, a bomb is loaded up into Kyiv or someplace, and then I get very angry about it. I think we’re going to get the war done. It’s tough.”
TRUMP UNSURE ABOUT PUTIN-ZELENSKYY FACE-TO-FACE MEETING
The US President added he is uncertain about whether the two wartime leaders will sit down face-to-face. “I don’t know that they’ll meet,” he admitted. “Maybe they will. Maybe they won’t.”
Last week, Trump hosted Zelenskyy and European leaders for talks in Washington while also phoning Putin.
He said his aim was to arrange direct negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, potentially followed by a three-way summit including himself.
TRUMP WARNS OF CONSEQUENCES IF PUTIN-ZELENSKYY DO NOT MEET
Trump also warned that there could be consequences if Putin and Zelenskyy do not meet. He said that the two leaders “should meet” and he would see what happens “over the next week or two” before stepping in.
Ahead of any potential talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that Putin will not meet Zelenskyy until Ukraine accepts certain long-standing Russian conditions.
Lavrov also cast doubt on Zelenskyy’s legitimacy, alleging his presidential term had expired under Ukraine’s constitution.
“When we come to a stage where you have to sign documents, we’d need a clear understanding that the person who’s signing is legitimate,” Lavrov said. “According to the Ukrainian constitution, Zelensky is not.”
Trump, still insisting that progress can be made, offered his own metaphor: “It takes two to tango. I always say. And they should meet, I think, before I have a meeting and probably close the deal.”
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With inputs form agencies