Axios reveals details of Zelenskyy-Trump conversation
Pravda Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during his conversation with Donald Trump on 12 February, warned that Vladimir Putin is merely pretending to be ready for a “peace deal”.
Source: European Pravda, citing Axios
Details: Axios, citing four sources familiar with the conversation, reports that Zelenskyy tried to convey to Trump that he has “leverage over Putin”.
Three sources described the call between the Ukrainian and US presidents as “positive” and stated that it lasted about an hour – longer than Trump’s earlier conversation with Putin.
Trump reportedly assured Zelenskyy that he understood his concerns about the Kremlin leader but stressed that he “needs to talk to Putin in order to save Ukraine”.
The US president also told Zelenskyy that Putin wants to make a deal and asked if Zelenskyy was still open to reaching an agreement. Axios sources report that Zelenskyy responded that he still wanted a deal but believed that Putin was merely telling Trump what he wanted to hear.
“Putin told you he wants a deal only because he is afraid of you, because you are strong,” the Ukrainian president reportedly told Trump.
In response, Trump acknowledged that Zelenskyy could be right but said he got the impression that Putin was serious, adding, “We will know soon”.
Axios states that at the end of the call, Trump gave Zelenskyy his personal number and said he could contact him directly. Zelenskyy, in turn, promised to gift Trump a championship belt from Oleksandr Usyk.
Background:
- On the evening of 12 February, Donald Trump spoke with the Kremlin leader and announced that they plan to meet. Following that, Trump called Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stated that any peace deal to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war, made behind the backs of Ukraine and Europe, is doomed to fail.
- Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declared that if the US and Russia negotiate an end to the war without Ukraine’s participation, Ukraine will not accept such an agreement.
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